JH : How did the legislative proposal then move forward ?
SP : After writing a rough draft of the proposed legislation , we enlisted support from other terrorism victims holding final judgments against Iran , Sudan and other state sponsors of terrorism as well as the 1979-1981 Iran hostages ( who were prevented by the Algiers Accords of 1981 from obtaining U . S . court judgments ). That larger , collective group revised and improved the proposal and then brought the proposal to members of Congress to consider . Members of Congress then took the proposal and , in my view , created a much-improved legislative product , the USVSST Act , which was enacted in December 2015 . A portion of the penalties paid by BNP Paribas pursuant to its 2014 criminal guilty plea was clawed back by Congress from the DOJ and the U . S . Treasury Department ’ s Forfeiture Fund and ultimately used to finance the USVSST Fund . Those penalties were then used to make the initial 2017 payments by the USVSST Fund to U . S . judgment creditors of Iran , Sudan and other designated state sponsors of terrorism as well as the 1979-1981 Iran hostages .
JH : To whom has the fund been beneficial in the past , and do you think that demographic will change in coming years ?
SP : The fund has been beneficial to the people of the United States . The fund establishes a means to provide compensatory payments to terrorism victims holding U . S . court judgments against state sponsors of terrorism . Rather than using tax dollars , the fund is intended to provide a means by which wrongdoers — those found to be criminally or civilly liable for violations of U . S . sanctions against state sponsors of terrorism — finance compensatory payments to terrorism victims holding U . S . court judgments . As a matter of advancing our national security and foreign policy interests , Congress sought to deter or , at least , raise the price paid by business entities and individuals who violate U . S . law by aiding Iran and other state sponsors of terrorism .
Julia Herring , May 2023 Graduate , The George Washington University Law School , Washington , D . C ., USA , juliaherring @ law . gwu . edu ,
1
“ Justice for United States Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Act , 34 U . S . C . § 20144 ,” Office of the Law Revision Counsel , December 18 , 2015 , https :// uscode . house . gov / view . xhtml ? req =( title : 34 % 20 section : 20144 % 20edition : prelim )
2
“ State Sponsors of Terrorism ,” U . S . Department of State : Bureau of Counterterrorism , https :// www . state . gov / state-sponsors-of-terrorism /
3
Kenneth Feinberg , “ Supplemental Report from the Special Master ,” United States Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund , August 2017 , http :// www . usvsst . com / docs / USVSSTFundSupplemental CongressionalReport _ Aug2017 . pdf
4
Ibid .
5
“ Justice for United States Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Act , 34 U . S . C . § 20144 ( e )( 2 )( A )( i ),” Office of the Law Revision Counsel , December 18 , 2015 , https :// uscode . house . gov / view . xhtml ? req =( title : 34 % 20 section : 20144 % 20edition : prelim )
6
“ Welcome to the U . S . Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund Website ,” United States Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund , Updated May 19 , 2023 , http :// www . usvsst . com
7
“ Qualifying Case Deposits in the USVSST Fund ,” United States Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund , Updated April 20 , 2023 , http :// www . usvsst . com / deposits . php
8
“ Justice for United States Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Act : Eligibility and Funding ,” Congressional Research Service , Updated April 11 , 2023 , https :// crsreports . congress . gov / product / pdf / IF / IF10341
9
Kristin Dalton , “ Nearly 6,000 families of 9 / 11 victims are 1 step closer to receiving compensation ,” SILive . com , October 6 , 2022 , https :// www . silive . com / politics / 2022 / 10 / nearly-6000-families-of-911- victims-are-1-step-closer-to-receiving-compensation . html
10
“ U . S . Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund Frequently Asked Questions ,” Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund , Updated April 20 , 2023 , http :// www . usvsst . com / docs / USVSST _ FAQs _ April202023 . pdf
11
Ibid .
12
“ Menendez Joins 9 / 11 and Terror Attack Victims and Families to Applaud Passage of His Legislation to Deliver Justice for Thousands of U . S . Terror Victim Families ,” Bob Menendez : U . S . Senate , January 19 , 2023 , https :// www . menendez . senate . gov / newsroom / press / menendez-joins-9 / 11-and-terror-attack-victimsand-families-to-applaud-passage-of-his-legislation-to-deliver-justice-for-thousands-of-us-terrorvictim-families
13
Ibid .
14
Katherine Lemire , “ Cryptocurrency and anti-money laundering enforcement ,” Reuters , September 26 , 2022 , https :// www . reuters . com / legal / transactionalcryptocurrency-anti-money-launderingenforcement-2022-09-26 /
15
Ibid .
16
Ibid .
17
Senators Elizabeth Warren and Roger Marshall , “ The Digital Asset Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2022 ,” Warren : Senate . gov , December 14 , 2022 , https :// www . warren . senate . gov / download / crypto-national-security-one-pager-draft _ 121322
18
“ Iranian Nationals Charged with Conspiring to Evade U . S . Sanctions on Iran by Disguising $ 300 Million in Transactions Over Two Decades ,” U . S . Department of Justice , March 19 , 2021 , https :// www . justice . gov / opa / pr / iranian-nationals-charged-conspiring-evade-us-sanctions-iran-disguising-300-million
19
“ U . S . Government Collects $ 7 Million in Iranian Assets for Victims of Terrorism Fund ,” U . S . Department of Justice , January 5 , 2021 , https :// www . justice . gov / opa / pr / us-government-collects-7-million-iranianassets-victims-terrorism-fund
20
Molly Quell , “ Iran faces US in international court over asset seizure ,” AP News , September 19 , 2022 , https :// apnews . com / article / middle-east-iran-lebanon-636c555049c8666855c8dcc5d54f9bef
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