The U.S. House of Representatives today passed U.S. Representative Zach Nunn’s (IA-03) bipartisan bill to prevent terrorist organizations from exploiting new financial technologies to fund violence. The OFAC Licensure for Investigators Act, which Rep. Nunn introduced with U.S. Representative Joyce Beatty (OH-03), passed the House of Representatives unanimously.
“As new technology is developed, terrorists are doing more and more to evade sanctions and mask their funding sources,” said Rep. Nunn. “This bipartisan legislation is a commonsense approach to ensure that the United States can identify and prevent funding for future attacks.”
Terrorist organizations, like Hamas, are adopting new and sophisticated approaches to fund their acts of terrorism. By exploiting these new currency options, these terror groups attempt to obscure their transactions and sources of funding to evade sanctions.
To counter illicit financial activity, it is imperative for governments, law enforcement agencies, financial institutions, and the private-sector to work together to monitor, investigate, and prevent financing of terrorism.
“I look forward to the Senate advancing this commonsense and proactive effort to promote financial intelligence-gathering, hold bad actors accountable, and advance our national security goals,” said Rep. Beatty. “Mobilizing the resources of private sector firms will enable us to work collaboratively to keep our financial system secure.”
The bipartisan OFAC Licensure for Investigators Act would establish a five-year pilot program under the U.S. Department of Treasury to:
- Allow private-sector firms to conduct very limited financial transactions with and through sanctioned entities to investigate suspicious behavior
- Coordinate between governments, law enforcement agencies, and private sector to monitor, investigate, and prevent cryptocurrency financing for terrorists
The bill, which was originally introduced on November 13, 2023, now awaits consideration by the Senate. Text of the bill can be found here.
