H.R. 7842 — Alien Banking Act

This section amends customer identification program (CIP) requirements under the Bank Secrecy Act to (1) require any individual seeking to open an account to attest under penalty of perjury to lawful presence in the United States (i.e., as a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, or otherwise lawfully present, as defined by the Secretary of Homeland Security in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury); (2) prohibit financial institutions from opening or maintaining accounts for individuals failing to provide such attestation; (3) impose penalties on individuals knowingly making false attestations, including civil penalties of $10,000-$50,000, criminal fines up to $250,000 and imprisonment up to 5 years (or both), and civil or criminal forfeiture of all property in or traceable to the account; and (4) require financial institutions to report suspected false attestations to the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Attorney General. (As background, CIP rules require financial institutions to verify customer identities when opening accounts to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing.)

This section directs the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Attorney General, to issue regulations within 180 days of enactment to implement the amendments made by section 2, including (1) model language for the attestation required by 31 U.S.C. 5318(l)(2)(D) and (2) guidelines for reporting suspected false attestations under 31 U.S.C. 5318(l)(9).