A proposal by the Treasury Department would allow the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) to seek more information as part of its review activities and enable “substantially” larger penalties in instances of noncompliance with relevant regulations.
The proposal, announced Thursday, “reflects CFIUS’s evolution and increased focus on monitoring, compliance, and enforcement,” the Treasury said in a press release. CFIUS was established in 1975 and reviews transactions by foreign persons involving real restate in the United States or investments in U.S. businesses to determine their potential effect on national security.
The committee, which is led by the Treasury, last had its enforcement provisions substantively updated in 2018, when then-President Donald Trump expanded its jurisdiction over certain investment structures to largely address emerging investment risks from China.
Among the changes called for in the Treasury’s proposal is an expansion to the terms under which CFIUS can issue subpoenas to include information requests from third persons not party to a transaction notified to CFIUS. The agency is also seeking to make it easier for CFIUS to impose civil money penalties in response to a party’s material misstatement and omission, as well as an increase to the maximum penalty available for violations of obligations under the CFIUS statute and regulations.
The proposal recommends an increase to the maximum penalty for violations of material provisions of mitigation agreements, material conditions imposed by the committee, or orders issued by the committee from $250,000 per violation to $5 million or the value of the transaction per violation, whichever is greater. CFIUS would continue to consider aggravating and mitigating factors identified in its penalty guidelines.
“As CFIUS has refined its focus on compliance and enforcement, we’ve identified important enhancements to our regulations to more effectively deter violations, promote compliance, and swiftly address national security risks in connection with CFIUS reviews,” said Assistant Secretary for Investment Security Paul Rosen in the Treasury’s release. “These updates reflect lessons learned in the course of our monitoring, compliance, and enforcement work.”
Comments on the proposal will be accepted for 30 days following its publication in the Federal Register. The Treasury said it will continue to assess opportunities for other areas to enhance the committee’s authority.
No comments yet