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Requires specified post-enactment forfeiture proceeds, fines, and penalties to be deposited into the U.S. Victims of State-Sponsored Terrorism Fund, sets deadlines and an annual authorization process for additional victim payments (starting Jan 1, 2026), and expands reporting and oversight requirements. It also allows the Special Master to use up to 10 DOJ full-time equivalent staff paid from the Fund and directs new GAO and agency reports on large forfeitures, Fund administration, and unpaid eligible claims.
Fifth-round payments: All fifth-round payments that must be authorized by the Special Master on or before January 1, 2025, must be distributed to eligible claimants not later than March 14, 2025, or, if an eligible claimant has not provided the Special Master with required payment information, as soon as practicable after the Special Master receives that information.
Deposit of specified Binance-related funds: The sum of $1,505,475,575, from the funds and the net proceeds from the sale of property paid to the United States arising from or in connection with specified proceedings shall be deposited into the Crime Victims Fund established under section 1402 of the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 (34 U.S.C. 20101).
Timing for deposits by agencies: An agency of the United States must deposit or transfer into the Crime Victims Fund any amount paid by a defendant that is required to be deposited into the Fund under the provision, plus any interest, not later than the later of (text as enacted describes a later-of standard).
DOJ Assets Forfeiture Fund transfers: Fifty percent of the excess unobligated balance of the Department of Justice Assets Forfeiture Fund (as defined in 28 U.S.C. 524(c)(8)), determined on the later of January 31 or the date of enactment of a final appropriations Act for each fiscal year, shall be transferred annually (not later than 30 days after that determination), plus 50 percent of any interest amount earned on investment of any balance of the Assets Forfeiture Fund as of that date.
Non-counting of transfers against limits: No transfer made under the DOJ Assets Forfeiture Fund provision shall count against any limitation on the use of excess unobligated balances as provided in an annual appropriations Act or other legislation.
Amends subsection (b)(1)(B) to replace the prior limit on Department of Justice full-time equivalent personnel (5 FTE, with two temporary 1-year +5 FTE exceptions) with a flat cap of 10 full-time equivalent Department of Justice personnel and retains that associated administrative costs are paid from the Fund.
Strikes item (bb) at subsection 404(d)(4)(D)(iv)(IV) of 34 U.S.C. 20144 and inserts new text in its place.
Primary beneficiaries are eligible claimants (victims and their families) who may receive more predictable and possibly earlier additional payments because specified forfeiture proceeds will be directed into the dedicated victim Fund and an annual payment schedule is established. Department of Justice and other agencies will need to identify, track, and transfer covered forfeiture proceeds on the required timetable; DOJ will also provide up to 10 FTEs to support the Special Master, funded from the Fund. Law enforcement forfeiture programs will see some proceeds reallocated to victim compensation rather than remaining in other federal forfeiture balances, which may shift local/state/federal equitable sharing flows in some cases. The legislation increases administrative and reporting responsibilities for the Special Master, the Attorney General, and the Comptroller General (GAO), creating more transparency but also more compliance work. Because administrative costs are charged to the Fund, the Fund’s balances will be used both for victim payments and operational costs. Increased GAO scrutiny and reporting requirements should improve oversight, while the explicit protection of restitution rights limits impacts on court-ordered victim recovery. Implementation will require systems for identifying eligible post-enactment forfeitures, calculating net proceeds, and timely transfers, which could impose operational burdens on agencies with forfeiture responsibilities.
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Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Introduced February 25, 2025 by John Cornyn · Last progress February 25, 2025
Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Introduced in Senate