American Victims of Terrorism Compensation Act

Section 404 of the Justice for United States Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Act (34 U.S.C. 20144) is amended—

(1) in subsection (d)(4), by adding at the end the following:

The Special Master shall authorize fifth-round payments to satisfy eligible claims under this section not later than July 1, 2024. All authorized payments shall be distributed to eligible claimants not later than December 31, 2024, or, if an eligible claimant has not provided the Special Master with the payment information required for distribution, as soon as practicable after the date of receipt by the Special Master of such information.

(1) ; and

(2) in subsection (e)—

(A) in paragraph (2), by adding at the end the following:

Funds and the net proceeds from the sale of property, forfeited or paid to the United States as a criminal penalty or fine in connection with the plea agreement in the proceedings captioned as United States v. Binance Holdings Limited, No. 2:23–cr–00178 (RAJ) (W.D. Wash. filed Nov. 14, 2023)—

(aa) which shall include the $898,618,825 that is required to be paid within 30 days of sentencing; and

(bb) which may include other funds and net proceeds that qualify for deposit or transfer into the Fund.

An agency of the United States shall deposit or transfer into the Fund any amount paid by a defendant in such proceedings pursuant to the plea agreement that is to be deposited or transferred into the Fund in accordance with subclause (I) not later than the later of—

(aa) 30 days after the receipt of such amount by the agency; or

(bb) 15 days after the date of enactment of this subparagraph.

Fifty percent of the excess unobligated balance of the Department of Justice Assets Forfeiture Fund established under 524(c)(1) of title 28, United States Code, to be paid on annually on December 1, beginning on December 1, 2024.

Fifty percent of the excess unobligated balance of the Department of the Treasury Forfeiture Fund established under section 9705 of title 31, United States Code, to be paid annually on December 1, beginning on December 1, 2024.

In this subparagraph:

The term excess unobligated balance with respect to a fund, means the difference between—

(aa) the unobligated balance of the fund, as of September 30 of the fiscal year before the date specified in subclause (I) or (II) of clause (ii) or in subclause (I) or (II) of clause (iii), as applicable; and

(bb) the amount that is required to be retained in the fund to ensure the availability of amounts in the fiscal year after the fiscal year described in item (aa) for the purposes for which amounts in the fund are authorized to be used.

For purposes of subclause (I)(aa), the amount of the unobligated balance of a fund, as of September 30 of a fiscal year, shall be determined without regard to any rescission of amounts in the fund for the next fiscal year included in an appropriation Act referred to in section 105 of title 1, United States Code, including any anticipated or potential rescission and any rescission given continuing effect for such next fiscal year under an Act making continuing appropriations for such next fiscal year.

Nothing in the amendments made by subsection (a) shall be construed to harm, jeopardize, or impair equitable sharing with law enforcement or restitution owed to crime victims.

Section 404(e)(2)(A) of the Justice for United States Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Act (34 U.S.C. 20144(e)(2)(A)) is amended by striking clause (i) and inserting the following:

All funds, and the net proceeds from the sale of property, forfeited or paid to the United States after the date of enactment of the American Victims of Terrorism Compensation Act as a criminal penalty or fine in a matter or proceeding involving, relating to, or arising from the actions of, or doing business with, or acting on behalf of, a state sponsor of terrorism, without regard to the nature of the offense.

All funds and net proceeds described in this clause shall be deposited or transferred into the Fund if the state sponsor of terrorism was so designated at the time of the penalty or fine, at any time during the course of any related legal proceedings, or at the time of any related conduct.

Nothing in this clause shall be construed to limit any rights to court-ordered restitution of any direct victim of an offense in a matter or proceeding from which amounts are to be deposited into the Fund pursuant to this clause.

Section 404(e)(2)(A) of the Justice for United States Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Act (34 U.S.C. 20144(e)(2)(A)) is amended by striking clause (ii) and inserting the following:

Seventy-five percent of all funds, and seventy-five percent of the net proceeds from the sale of property, forfeited or paid to the United States after the date of enactment of the American Victims of Terrorism Compensation Act, as a civil penalty or fine in a matter or proceeding involving, relating to, or arising from the actions of, or doing business with, or acting on behalf of, a state sponsor of terrorism, without regard to the nature of the offense.

All funds and net proceeds described in this clause shall be deposited or transferred into the Fund if the state sponsor of terrorism was so designated at the time of the penalty or fine, at any time during the course of any related legal proceedings, or at the time of any related conduct.

Nothing in this clause shall be construed to limit any rights to court-ordered restitution of any direct victim of an offense in a matter or proceeding from which amounts are to be deposited into the Fund pursuant to this clause.

Except as provided in subparagraphs (B), (C), and (D), on January 1, 2025, and January 1 of each calendar year thereafter, the Special Master or the Attorney General shall authorize a general distribution of payments on a pro rata basis to those claimants with eligible claims under subsection (c)(2). All authorized payments shall be distributed to the eligible claimants as soon as practicable in the calendar year of authorization, or, if the Special Master or Attorney General authorizes payments prior to January 1, not later than 1 year after the date of such authorization. Except as provided in this subparagraph, the Special Master shall not be required to authorize more than 1 general distribution in any calendar year, but may, in the sole discretion of the Special Master, authorize any such additional general distributions, if appropriate.

On January 1 of each year, the Special Master shall submit to the chairman and ranking minority member of the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the chairman and ranking minority member of the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives a report on the balance and activity of the Fund, which shall include—

(I) the total amount in the Fund at the end of the preceding fiscal year;

(II) deposits into the Fund during the preceding fiscal year sufficient to identify the source, including, if applicable, the case name and the amount of each deposit, except to the extent that any sealing order requires any portion of such information to remain confidential; and

(III) disbursements from the Fund during the preceding fiscal year sufficient to identify specific amounts disbursed for victim compensation and other purposes, including for administrative costs and use of Department of Justice personnel;

Not later than January 1, 2027, and every 3 years thereafter, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to Congress a report—

(I) evaluating the administration of the Fund and the sufficiency of funding for the Fund; and

(II) making recommendations for any further funding of the Fund.

The term general distribution means any distribution for all eligible claims pursuant to section (d)(1).

The Special Master may utilize, as necessary, no more than 10 full-time equivalent Department of Justice personnel to assist in carrying out the duties of the Special Master under this section. Any costs associated with the use of such personnel, and any other administrative costs of carrying out this section, shall be paid from the Fund.