22 USC 2708 - Department of State rewards program

View all text of Chapter 38 [§ 2651 - § 2739]

§ 2708. Department of State rewards program

(a) Establishment

(1) In general

(2) Purpose

(3) Implementation

(b) Rewards authorizedIn the sole discretion of the Secretary (except as provided in subsection (c)(2)) and in consultation, as appropriate, with the heads of other relevant departments or agencies, the Secretary may pay a reward to any individual who furnishes information leading to—

(1) the arrest or conviction in any country of any individual for the commission of an act of international terrorism against a United States person or United States property;

(2) the arrest or conviction in any country of any individual conspiring or attempting to commit an act of international terrorism against a United States person or United States property;

(3) the arrest or conviction in any country of any individual for committing, primarily outside the territorial jurisdiction of the United States, any narcotics-related offense if that offense involves or is a significant part of conduct that involves—

(A) a violation of United States narcotics laws such that the individual would be a major violator of such laws;

(B) the killing or kidnapping of—

(i) any officer, employee, or contract employee of the United States Government while such individual is engaged in official duties, or on account of that individual’s official duties, in connection with the enforcement of United States narcotics laws or the implementing of United States narcotics control objectives; or

(ii) a member of the immediate family of any such individual on account of that individual’s official duties, in connection with the enforcement of United States narcotics laws or the implementing of United States narcotics control objectives; or

(4) the arrest or conviction in any country of any individual aiding or abetting in the commission of an act described in paragraph (1), (2), (3), (8), (9), (10), or (14);

(5) the prevention, frustration, or favorable resolution of an act described in paragraph (1), (2), (3), (8), (9), (10), or (13), including by dismantling an organization in whole or significant part;

(6) the identification or location of an individual who holds a key leadership position in a terrorist organization or transnational organized crime group;

(7) the disruption of financial mechanisms of a foreign terrorist organization or transnational organized crime group, including the use by such organization or group of illicit narcotics production or international narcotics trafficking—

(A) to finance acts of international terrorism or transnational organized crime; or

(B) to sustain or support any terrorist organization or transnational organized crime group;

(8) the arrest or conviction in any country of any individual for participating in, primarily outside the United States, transnational organized crime;

(9) the arrest or conviction in any country of any individual conspiring to participate in or attempting to participate in transnational organized crime;

(10) the arrest or conviction in any country, or the transfer to or conviction by an international criminal tribunal (including a hybrid or mixed tribunal), of any foreign national accused of war crimes, crimes against humanity, or genocide (including war crimes, crimes against humanity, or genocide committed in Syria beginning in March 2011), as defined under—

(A) the statute of such country or tribunal, as the case may be; or

(B) United States law;

(11) the identification or location of any person who, while acting at the direction of or under the control of a foreign government, aids or abets a violation of

(12) the disruption of financial mechanisms of any person who has engaged in the conduct described in section 2914(a) or 2914(b)(1) of this title;

(13) the identification or location of a foreign person that knowingly engaged or is engaging in foreign election interference; or

(14) the prevention, frustration, or resolution of the hostage taking of a United States person, the identification, location, arrest, or conviction of a person responsible for the hostage taking of a United States person, or the location of a United States person who has been taken hostage, in any country.

(1) ProceduresTo ensure that the payment of rewards pursuant to this section does not duplicate or interfere with the payment of informants or the obtaining of evidence or information, as authorized to the Department of Justice, the offering, administration, and payment of rewards under this section, including procedures for—

(A) identifying individuals, organizations, and offenses with respect to which rewards will be offered;

(B) the publication of rewards;

(D) the receipt and analysis of data; and

(E) the payment and approval of payment,

shall be governed by procedures developed by the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Attorney General.

(2) Prior approval of Attorney General required

(d) Funding

(1) Authorization of appropriations

(2) Period of availability

(e) Limitations and certification

(1) Maximum amount

(2) Approval

(3) Certification for payment

(4) Nondelegation of authority

(5) Protection measures

(6) Forms of reward payment

(f) Ineligibility

(g) Reports

(1) Reports on payment of rewards

(2) Annual reports

(3) Advance notification for international criminal tribunal rewards

(4) Reports on rewards authorized

(h) Publication regarding rewards offered by foreign governments

(i) Media surveys and advertisements

(1) Surveys conducted

(2) Creation and purchase of advertisements

(j) Determinations of Secretary

(k) DefinitionsAs used in this section:

(1) Act of international terrorismThe term “act of international terrorism” includes—

(A) any act substantially contributing to the acquisition of unsafeguarded special nuclear material (as defined in paragraph (8) of section 6305 of this title) or any nuclear explosive device (as defined in paragraph (4) of that section) by an individual, group, or non-nuclear-weapon state (as defined in paragraph (5) of that section); and

(B) any act, as determined by the Secretary, which materially supports the conduct of international terrorism, including the counterfeiting of United States currency or the illegal use of other monetary instruments by an individual, group, or country supporting international terrorism as determined for purposes of section 4605(j)(1)(A) 1

1 See References in Text note below.

of title 50.

(2) Appropriate congressional committees

(3) Foreign personThe term “foreign person” means—

(A) an individual who is not a United States person; or

(B) a foreign entity.

(4) Foreign election interferenceThe term “foreign election interference” means conduct by a foreign person that—

(A)

(i) violates Federal criminal, voting rights, or campaign finance law; or

(ii) is performed by any person acting as an agent of or on behalf of, or in coordination with, a foreign government or criminal enterprise; and

(B) includes any covert, fraudulent, deceptive, or unlawful act or attempted act, or knowing use of information acquired by theft, undertaken with the specific intent to significantly influence voters, undermine public confidence in election processes or institutions, or influence, undermine confidence in, or alter the result or reported result of, a general or primary Federal, State, or local election or caucus, including—

(i) the campaign of a candidate; or

(ii) a ballot measure, including an amendment, a bond issue, an initiative, a recall, a referral, or a referendum.

(5) Member of the immediate familyThe term “member of the immediate family”, with respect to an individual, includes—

(A) a spouse, parent, brother, sister, or child of the individual;

(B) a person with respect to whom the individual stands in loco parentis; and

(C) any person not covered by subparagraph (A) or (B) who is living in the individual’s household and is related to the individual by blood or marriage.

(6) Rewards program

(7) Transnational organized crimeThe term “transnational organized crime”—

(A) means—

(i) racketeering activity (as such term is defined in section 1961 of title 18) that involves at least one jurisdiction outside the United States; or

(ii) any other criminal offense punishable by a term of imprisonment of at least four years under Federal, State, or local law that involves at least one jurisdiction outside the United States and that is intended to obtain, directly or indirectly, a financial or other material benefit; and

(B) includes wildlife trafficking (as defined by section 7601(12) of title 16) and severe forms of trafficking in persons (as defined in section 7102 of this title) involving at least 1 jurisdiction outside of the United States.

(8) Transnational organized crime group

(9) United States narcotics laws

(10) United States personThe term “United States person” means—

(A) a citizen or national of the United States; or

(B) an alien lawfully present in the United States.

(Aug. 1, 1956, ch. 841, title I, § 36, as added Pub. L. 98–533, title I, § 102, Oct. 19, 1984, 98 Stat. 2708; amended Pub. L. 99–399, title V, § 502, Aug. 27, 1986, 100 Stat. 869; Pub. L. 100–690, title IV, § 4602, Nov. 18, 1988, 102 Stat. 4287; Pub. L. 101–231, § 13(a), Dec. 13, 1989, 103 Stat. 1963; Pub. L. 101–246, title X, § 1001, Feb. 16, 1990, 104 Stat. 86; Pub. L. 103–236, title I, § 133(a)(1), title VIII, § 827, Apr. 30, 1994, 108 Stat. 395, 519; Pub. L. 104–134, title I, § 101[(a)] [title IV, § 406], Apr. 26, 1996, 110 Stat. 1321, 1321–45; renumbered title I, Pub. L. 104–140, § 1(a), May 2, 1996, 110 Stat. 1327; Pub. L. 105–277, div. G, subdiv. B, title XXII, § 2202, Oct. 21, 1998, 112 Stat. 2681–805; Pub. L. 105–323, title I, § 101, Oct. 30, 1998, 112 Stat. 3029; Pub. L. 107–56, title V, § 502, Oct. 26, 2001, 115 Stat. 364; Pub. L. 108–447, div. B, title IV, § 405(a)–(d), Dec. 8, 2004, 118 Stat. 2902, 2903; Pub. L. 110–181, div. A, title XII, § 1255(a), Jan. 28, 2008, 122 Stat. 402; Pub. L. 112–283, §§ 3, 4, Jan. 15, 2013, 126 Stat. 2493, 2494; Pub. L. 114–323, title VII, § 704(a)(1), (2), Dec. 16, 2016, 130 Stat. 1941; Pub. L. 115–44, title III, § 323, Aug. 2, 2017, 131 Stat. 954; Pub. L. 115–141, div. R, § 3, Mar. 23, 2018, 132 Stat. 1123; Pub. L. 115–232, div. A, title XII, § 1232(d), Aug. 13, 2018, 132 Stat. 2038; Pub. L. 116–94, div. J, title VI, § 603, Dec. 20, 2019, 133 Stat. 3069; Pub. L. 116–283, div. A, title XII, § 1238, Jan. 1, 2021, 134 Stat. 3943; Pub. L. 117–263, div. E, title LV, § 5585(a), div. I, title XCI, § 9104, Dec. 23, 2022, 136 Stat. 3374, 3859; Pub. L. 117–273, § 2, Dec. 27, 2022, 136 Stat. 4182.)