6 U.S.C. § 382 — Use of proceeds derived from criminal investigations

(a) United States Secret Service use of proceeds derived from criminal investigations. Starting in fiscal year 2014, for any undercover investigation the Secret Service needs to detect and prosecute crimes against the United States: (1) the Secret Service can use its appropriated money, including money left over from past years, to buy property, buildings, and other facilities, or lease space, anywhere in the U.S. or its territories, without following certain standard federal contracting and property laws (title 31 sections 1341 and 3324; title 40 section 8141; title 41 sections 6301(a), (b)(1)-(3), 6306(a), 3901, and chapter 45); (2) that money can also be used to set up or buy front corporations or businesses as part of the undercover operation, and to run them commercially, without following the usual federal rules on owning corporations (title 31 sections 9102 and 9103); (3) that money, including any proceeds the undercover operation earns, can be deposited in banks or other financial institutions without following the usual rules against private deposits of federal funds (title 18 section 648, title 31 section 3302); and (4) proceeds from the operation can be used to cover its own necessary and reasonable expenses, again without following title 31 section 3302. (b) Written certification. The Secret Service can only use these powers if the Director of the Secret Service, or someone the Director designates, certifies in writing that a specific action is necessary for a specific undercover operation. That certification stays valid for as long as the operation runs, no matter how many fiscal years that takes. (c) Deposit of proceeds in Treasury. As soon as it's practical, once the proceeds from an operation covered by paragraphs (3) and (4) of subsection (a) are no longer needed for that operation, the Secret Service must deposit whatever proceeds remain into the U.S. Treasury as miscellaneous receipts. (d) Reporting and deposit of proceeds upon disposition of certain business entities. If a front corporation or business set up under subsection (a)(2), worth more than $50,000, is going to be liquidated, sold, or otherwise gotten rid of, the Secret Service must tell the Secretary of Homeland Security about it — as far in advance as is practical. Once obligations are paid, the money from that sale or liquidation must go into the Treasury as miscellaneous receipts. (e) Financial audits and reports. (1) The Secret Service must run detailed financial audits, every quarter, of closed undercover operations that had a written certification under subsection (b), and report the results in writing to the Secretary of Homeland Security. (2) Each year, when the President submits the federal budget, the Secretary of Homeland Security must send Congress's Appropriations Committees a summary of those audits.