Regulations last checked for updates: Nov 22, 2024

Title 31 - Money and Finance: Treasury last revised: Nov 18, 2024
§ 566.300 - Applicability of definitions.

The definitions in this subpart apply throughout the entire part.

§ 566.301 - Agent.

The term agent includes an entity established by a person for purposes of conducting transactions on behalf of the person in order to conceal the identity of the person.

§ 566.302 - Correspondent account.

The term correspondent account means an account established to receive deposits from, make payments on behalf of, or handle other financial transactions related to a foreign financial institution.

§ 566.303 - Covered financial institution.

The term covered financial institution means a broker or dealer in securities registered, or required to be registered, with the Securities and Exchange Commission under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78a et seq.), except persons who register pursuant to section 15(b)(11) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934; a futures commission merchant or an introducing broker registered, or required to be registered, with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission under the Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 1 et seq.), except persons who register pursuant to section 4(f)(a)(2) of the Commodity Exchange Act; or a mutual fund.

§ 566.304 - Effective date.

The effective date refers to the effective date of a prohibition or strict condition imposed pursuant to § 566.201 on the opening or maintaining of a correspondent account or a payable-through account in the United States by a U.S. financial institution for a particular foreign financial institution and is the earlier of the date the U.S. financial institution receives actual or constructive notice of such prohibition or condition.

§ 566.305 - Entity.

The term entity means a partnership, association, trust, joint venture, corporation, group, subgroup, or other organization.

§ 566.306 - Financial institution.

The term financial institution means:

(a) An insured bank (as defined in section 3(h) of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1813(h));

(b) A commercial bank or trust company;

(c) A private banker;

(d) An agency or branch of a foreign bank in the United States;

(e) Any credit union;

(f) A thrift institution;

(g) A broker or dealer registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78a et seq.);

(h) A broker or dealer in securities or commodities;

(i) An investment banker or investment company;

(j) A currency exchange;

(k) An issuer, redeemer, or cashier of travelers' checks, checks, money orders, or similar instruments;

(l) An insurance company;

(m) A dealer in precious metals, stones, or jewels;

(n) A loan or finance company;

(o) A licensed sender of money or any other person who engages as a business in the transmission of funds including any person who engages as a business in an informal money transfer system or any network of people who engage as a business in facilitating the transfer of money domestically or internationally outside of the conventional financial institutions system;

(p) A business engaged in vehicle sales, including automobile, airplane, and boat sales;

(q) Any business or agency which engages in any activity which the Secretary of the Treasury determines, by regulation, to be an activity which is similar to, related to, or a substitute for any activity in which any business described in this paragraph is authorized to engage; or

(r) Any other business designated by the Secretary whose cash transactions have a high degree of usefulness in criminal, tax, or regulatory matters.

§ 566.307 - Financial services.

The term financial services includes loans, transfers, accounts, insurance, investments, securities, guarantees, foreign exchange, letters of credit, and commodity futures or options.

§ 566.308 - Financial transaction.

The term financial transaction means any transfer of value involving a financial institution.

§ 566.309 - Foreign financial institution.

(a) The term foreign financial institution means:

(1) A foreign bank;

(2) Any branch or office located outside the United States of a covered financial institution, as defined in § 566.303;

(3) Any other person organized under foreign law (other than a branch or office of such person in the United States) that, if it were located in the United States, would be a covered financial institution, as defined in § 566.303; and

(4) Any person organized under foreign law (other than a branch or office of such person in the United States) that is engaged in the business of, and is readily identifiable as, a dealer in foreign exchange or a money transmitter.

(b) For purposes of paragraph (a)(4) of this section, a person is not “engaged in the business” of a dealer in foreign exchange or a money transmitter if such transactions are merely incidental to the person's business.

[81 FR 22186, Apr. 15, 2016, as amended at 84 FR 35310, July 23, 2019]
§ 566.310 - HIFPA.

The term HIFPA means the Hizballah International Financing Prevention Act of 2015, Public Law 114-102.

§ 566.311 - Hizballah.

The term Hizballah means:

(a) The entity known as Hizballah and designated by the Secretary of State as a foreign terrorist organization pursuant to section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1189); or

(b) Any person:

(1) The property and interests in property of which are blocked pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.); and

(2) Who is identified on the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List (SDN List) maintained by OFAC as an agent, instrumentality, or affiliate of Hizballah.

Note to § 566.311:

The SDN List is accessible through the following page on OFAC's Web site: www.treasury.gov/sdn. Additional information pertaining to the SDN List can be found in appendix A to this chapter. Persons on the SDN List that fall within the definition of Hizballah set forth in this section are identified by a special reference to Hizballah at the end of their entries on the SDN List, in addition to the reference to the regulatory part of this chapter pursuant to which their property and interests in property are blocked. For example, a person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to the Global Terrorism Sanctions Regulations, 31 CFR part 594, and identified on the SDN List will have the program tag “[SDGT]” and descriptive text [“Subject to secondary sanctions pursuant to the Hizballah Financial Sanctions Regulations”].

§ 566.312 - Knowingly.

The term knowingly, with respect to conduct, a circumstance, or a result, means that a person has actual knowledge, or should have known, of the conduct, the circumstance, or the result.

§ 566.313 - Licenses; general and specific.

(a) Except as otherwise provided in this part, the term license means any license or authorization contained in or issued pursuant to this part.

(b) The term general license means any license or authorization the terms of which are set forth in subpart E of this part or made available on OFAC's Web site: www.treasury.gov/ofac.

(c) The term specific license means any license or authorization issued pursuant to this part but not set forth in subpart E of this part or made available on OFAC's Web site: www.treasury.gov/ofac.

Note to § 566.313:

See § 501.801 of this chapter on licensing procedures.

§ 566.314 - Money laundering.

The term money laundering includes the movement of illicit cash or cash equivalent proceeds into, out of, or through a country, or into, out of, or through a financial institution.

§ 566.315 - OFAC.

The term OFAC means the Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control.

§ 566.316 - Payable-through account.

The term payable-through account means an account, including a transaction account as defined in § 566.317, opened at a depository institution by a foreign financial institution by means of which the foreign financial institution permits its customers to engage, either directly or through a subaccount, in banking activities usual in connection with the business of banking in the United States.

§ 566.317 - Person.

The term person means an individual or entity.

§ 566.318 - Transaction account.

The term transaction account means a deposit or account on which the depositor or account holder is permitted to make withdrawals by negotiable or transferable instrument, payment orders of withdrawal, telephone transfers, or other similar items for the purpose of making payments or transfers to third persons or others. Such term includes demand deposits, negotiable order of withdrawal accounts, savings deposits subject to automatic transfers, and share draft accounts.

§ 566.319 - United States.

The term United States means the United States, its territories and possessions, and all areas under the jurisdiction or authority thereof.

§ 566.320 - U.S. financial institution.

The term U.S. financial institution means a financial institution located in or organized under the laws of the United States or any jurisdiction within the United States.

authority: 3 U.S.C. 301; 31 U.S.C. 321(b); 50 U.S.C. 1601-1651,1701; Pub. L. 101-410, 104 Stat. 890, as amended (28 U.S.C. 2461 note); Pub. L. 114-102, 129 Stat. 2205 (50 U.S.C. 1701 note); Pub. L. 115-272, 132 Stat. 4144 (50 U.S.C. 1701 note)
cite as: 31 CFR 566.303