News

China, Russia, and Iran use alternate financial systems to evade U.S. sanctions. Our nation must bolster its economic defense against this circumvention. 

U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) introduced the Sanctions Evasion Prevention and Mitigation Act to ensure our adversaries face economic consequences for their anti-democratic actions, ranging from committing human rights abuses to promoting terrorism.

• “Sanction enforcement is vital to enforcing our laws. When our adversaries evade U.S. sanctions, we must do everything in our power to ensure they are held accountable and safeguard our financial system. This bill prioritizes countering regimes that are attempting to circumvent U.S. sanctions, including those in Tehran, Beijing, and Moscow.” – Senator Rubio 

Specifically, the legislation would:

• Direct the President to impose sanctions on any financial institution from a country of concern (China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, and Venezuela, as well as Russian-occupied territory) that uses China’s Cross-Border Interbank Payment System (CIPS), Russia’s System for Transfer of Financial Messages (SPFS), or Iran’s System for Electronic Payment Messaging (SEPAM) to verify or conduct a transaction;
• Terminate or prohibit any correspondent accounts or payable-through accounts of offending financial institutions in the U.S., or block all transactions in property and visas of such institutions or institution leadership in the United States or in the possession of a U.S. person; and
• Require a report from U.S. Department of Treasury outlining the scope and usage of CIPS, SPFS, and SEPAM around the world, the risks of widespread adoption of these systems to U.S. national security, and recommendations to preserve and strengthen U.S. influence in the global financial system.