Preventing Iran's Access to United States Dollars Act of 2016

Preventing Iran's Access to United States Dollars Act of 2016

This bill prohibits the President from issuing a license that permits a person to:

• conduct an offshore U.S. dollar clearing system for transactions involving the government of Iran or an Iranian person, or
• provide U.S. dollars for any offshore U.S. dollar clearing system conducted by a foreign government or a foreign financial institution for transactions involving the government of Iran or an Iranian person.

The Department of the Treasury shall report to Congress:

• a list of financial institutions operating or participating in an offshore U.S. dollar clearing system that conducts transactions involving the government of Iran or an Iranian person, and
• an assessment of Treasury efforts to prevent such transactions.

The President shall block and prohibit all transactions in property and property interests of any listed institution if the property and interests: (1) are in the United States, (2) come within the United States, or (3) are or come within the possession or control of a U.S. person. The President may impose additional sanctions pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 is amended to subject to sanctions: (1) u-turn transactions (fund transfers from a foreign bank that pass through a U.S. financial institution and are then transferred to a second foreign bank), and (2) book transfers (fund transfers for the benefit of an Iranian financial institution made between accounts of the same financial institution).