| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to financial institutions; providing |
| 3 | definitions; requiring a financial institution that is |
| 4 | chartered in this state and that maintains certain |
| 5 | accounts with a foreign financial institution to |
| 6 | establish due diligence policies, procedures, and |
| 7 | controls reasonably designed to detect whether the |
| 8 | foreign financial institution engages in certain |
| 9 | activities facilitating the development of weapons of |
| 10 | mass destruction by the Government of Iran, provides |
| 11 | support for certain foreign terrorist organizations, |
| 12 | or participates in other related activities; requiring |
| 13 | the Office of Financial Regulation to adopt rules |
| 14 | establishing minimum standards for the due diligence |
| 15 | policies, procedures, and controls; requiring a |
| 16 | financial institution chartered in this state to |
| 17 | annually file a compliance certificate with the Office |
| 18 | of Financial Regulation; requiring the Office of |
| 19 | Financial Regulation to submit an annual report |
| 20 | relating to its rules and certifications from |
| 21 | financial institutions to the Governor, the President |
| 22 | of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of |
| 23 | Representatives; requiring the Office of the Chief |
| 24 | Financial Officer to make the annual report available |
| 25 | to the public on its website; authorizing the Office |
| 26 | of Financial Regulation to impose a civil penalty |
| 27 | against a financial institution that fails to make the |
| 28 | annual certification required by the act; providing an |
| 29 | effective date. |
| 30 |
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| 31 | WHEREAS, the United States Congress passed, and President |
| 32 | Obama signed into law, the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, |
| 33 | Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010, and |
| 34 | WHEREAS, the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, |
| 35 | and Divestment Act of 2010 prohibits or strictly limits any |
| 36 | foreign financial institution's ability to open or maintain a |
| 37 | correspondent account or a payable-through account with American |
| 38 | financial institutions if the United States Secretary of the |
| 39 | Treasury determines that the foreign financial institution |
| 40 | knowingly engages in certain activities facilitating the |
| 41 | development of weapons of mass destruction by the Government of |
| 42 | Iran, provides support for certain foreign terrorist |
| 43 | organizations, or participates in other related activities, and |
| 44 | WHEREAS, the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, |
| 45 | and Divestment Act of 2010 imposes civil and criminal penalties |
| 46 | against financial institutions based in the United States which |
| 47 | know or should know that they are maintaining a correspondent |
| 48 | account or a payable-through account with a foreign financial |
| 49 | institution that engages in prohibited activities, and |
| 50 | WHEREAS, it is a sensible fiduciary responsibility of |
| 51 | financial institutions chartered in the State of Florida to know |
| 52 | the activities of foreign financial institutions with which they |
| 53 | maintain correspondent or payable-through accounts, NOW, |
| 54 | THEREFORE, |
| 55 |
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| 56 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 57 |
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| 58 | Section 1. Financial institutions; transactions relating |
| 59 | to Iran or terrorism.- |
| 60 | (1) As used in this section, the term: |
| 61 | (a) "Correspondent account" has the same meaning as |
| 62 | defined in 31 U.S.C. s. 5318A. |
| 63 | (b) "Financial institution" has the same meaning as |
| 64 | defined in s. 655.005(1)(i), Florida Statutes. |
| 65 | (c) "Payable-through account" has the same meaning as |
| 66 | defined in 31 U.S.C. s. 5318A. |
| 67 | (2) A financial institution chartered in this state which |
| 68 | maintains a correspondent account or a payable-through account |
| 69 | with a foreign financial institution must establish due |
| 70 | diligence policies, procedures, and controls reasonably designed |
| 71 | to detect whether the United States Secretary of the Treasury |
| 72 | has found that the foreign financial institution knowingly: |
| 73 | (a) Facilitates the efforts of the Government of Iran, |
| 74 | including efforts of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, to |
| 75 | acquire or develop weapons of mass destruction or their delivery |
| 76 | systems; |
| 77 | (b) Provides support for an organization designated by the |
| 78 | United States as a foreign terrorist organization; |
| 79 | (c) Facilitates the activities of a person who is subject |
| 80 | to financial sanctions pursuant to a resolution of the United |
| 81 | Nations Security Council imposing sanctions on Iran; |
| 82 | (d) Engages in money laundering to carry out any activity |
| 83 | listed in this subsection; |
| 84 | (e) Facilitates efforts by the Central Bank of Iran or any |
| 85 | other Iranian financial institution to carry out an activity |
| 86 | listed in this subsection; or |
| 87 | (f) Facilitates a significant transaction or provides |
| 88 | significant financial services for Iran's Revolutionary Guard |
| 89 | Corps or its agents or affiliates, or any financial institution, |
| 90 | whose property or interests in property are blocked pursuant to |
| 91 | federal law in connection with Iran's proliferation of weapons |
| 92 | of mass destruction, or delivery systems for those weapons, or |
| 93 | Iran's support for international terrorism. |
| 94 | (3) By July 1, 2012, the Office of Financial Regulation |
| 95 | shall adopt rules establishing minimum standards for due |
| 96 | diligence policies, procedures, and controls required by this |
| 97 | section. |
| 98 | (4) By January 1, 2013, and each January 1 thereafter, |
| 99 | each financial institution chartered in this state must certify |
| 100 | to the Office of Financial Regulation that the financial |
| 101 | institution has adopted and substantially complies with its due |
| 102 | diligence policies, procedures, and controls required by this |
| 103 | section and the rules of the Office of Financial Regulation, and |
| 104 | that to the best knowledge of the financial institution, the |
| 105 | financial institution does not maintain a correspondent account |
| 106 | or a payable-through account with a foreign financial |
| 107 | institution that knowingly engages in any act described in |
| 108 | subsection (2). |
| 109 | (5) By January 31, 2013, and each January 31 thereafter, |
| 110 | the Office of Financial Regulation must submit a report to the |
| 111 | Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the |
| 112 | House of Representatives which contains a copy of the rules |
| 113 | required under subsection (2) and the status of the |
| 114 | certifications of compliance received from the financial |
| 115 | institutions charted in this state. |
| 116 | (6) The Office of the Chief Financial Officer shall make |
| 117 | its annual compliance report under this section available on its |
| 118 | website. |
| 119 | (7) The Office of Financial Regulation may impose a civil |
| 120 | penalty, not to exceed $100,000 per occurrence, against a |
| 121 | financial institution that fails to make the annual |
| 122 | certification required under subsection (4). |
| 123 | Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law. |