22 U.S.C. § 8909 — Mandatory imposition of sanctions with respect to certain transactions with persons that evade sanctions imposed with respect to the Russian Federation

(a) In general — The President must impose the sanctions in subsection (b) on a foreign person if the President determines that, knowingly and on or after August 2, 2017, the person either:

(1) materially violates, tries to violate, conspires to violate, or causes a violation of a license, order, regulation, or prohibition contained in or issued under a "covered Executive order," this chapter, or the Ukraine Freedom Support Act of 2014; or

(2) facilitates a "significant transaction" or transactions, including "deceptive" or "structured" transactions. This section does not define "significant transaction" or "deceptive." The transaction or transactions must be for or on behalf of:
(A) a person subject to United States sanctions relating to the Russian Federation; or
(B) that person’s child, spouse, parent, or sibling.

(b) Sanctions described — The sanctions are the exercise of all powers the International Emergency Economic Powers Act gives the President, to the extent needed to block and prohibit all transactions involving all property and interests in property of a person covered by subsection (a), when that property or those interests are in the United States, enter the United States, or are or come under the possession or control of a United States person^*.

(c) Implementation; penalties
(1) Implementation — The President may use all authority provided under sections 203 and 205 of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to carry out subsection (b).

(2) Penalties — A person who violates, tries to violate, conspires to violate, or causes a violation of subsection (b), or of a regulation, license, or order issued to carry out subsection (b), is subject to the penalties in subsections (b) and (c) of section 206 of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, to the same extent as a person who commits an unlawful act described in subsection (a) of that section.

(d) Application of new sanctions — The President may waive the initial application of sanctions under subsection (b) to a person only if the President submits the following to the appropriate congressional committees^*:

(1) A written determination that the waiver is either:
(A) in the vital national security interests of the United States; or
(B) will further enforcement of this chapter.

(2) If the sanctions are imposed in connection with a covered Executive order listed in subsection (f)(1)(A) through (D), a certification that the Government of the Russian Federation is taking steps to implement the Minsk Agreement addressing the continuing conflict in eastern Ukraine. The certification must refer to the agreement signed in Minsk, Belarus, on February 11, 2015, by the leaders of Ukraine, Russia, France, and Germany; the Minsk Protocol agreed to on September 5, 2014; and any successor agreements agreed to by the Government of Ukraine.

(3) If the sanctions are imposed in connection with a covered Executive order listed in subsection (f)(1)(E) or (F), a certification that the Government of the Russian Federation has made significant efforts to reduce the number and intensity of cyber intrusions conducted by that government.

(e) Termination — Subject to section 9511, the President may terminate the application of sanctions under subsection (b) to a person only if the President submits the following to the appropriate congressional committees:

(1) Notice of and a justification for the termination; and

(2) Notice that:
(A) the person is not engaging in the activity that was the basis for the sanctions or has taken significant, verifiable steps toward stopping that activity; and
(B) the President has received reliable assurances that the person will not knowingly engage in activity subject to sanctions under subsection (a) in the future.

(f) Definitions — In this section:

(1) "Covered Executive order" means any of these orders:
(A) Executive Order No. 13660, relating to blocking the property of certain people contributing to the situation in Ukraine;
(B) Executive Order No. 13661, relating to blocking the property of additional people contributing to the situation in Ukraine;
(C) Executive Order No. 13662, relating to blocking the property of additional people contributing to the situation in Ukraine;
(D) Executive Order No. 13685, relating to blocking the property of certain people and prohibiting certain transactions involving the Crimea region of Ukraine;
(E) Executive Order No. 13694, relating to blocking the property of certain people engaging in significant malicious cyber-enabled activities, as it relates to the Russian Federation; and
(F) Executive Order No. 13757, relating to taking additional steps to address the national emergency involving significant malicious cyber-enabled activities, as it relates to the Russian Federation.

(2) "Foreign person" means what section 595.304 of title 31 of the Code of Federal Regulations said it meant on August 2, 2017. This section does not define the term itself.

(3) "Structured," when used for a transaction, means what the term "structure" means in paragraph (xx) of section 1010.100 of title 31 of the Code of Federal Regulations, or in any corresponding similar regulation or ruling. This section does not define the term itself.