Qualifying Case Deposits in the USVSST Fund
*New* Qualifying Cases - Frequently Asked Questions (click to expand)
The below link to the FAQs in PDF format are fully accessible.
These FAQs were last updated on July 3, 2023.
You can read the FAQs in PDF format, or you may view the FAQs below.
These FAQs are meant to help you understand the U.S. Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund; however, they do not constitute legal advice, nor alter in any way the authorities of the Special Master and the U.S. Department of Justice, including the authority to implement the Act. The FAQs are not intended to, do not, and may not be relied upon to create any rights, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law by any party in any matter, civil or criminal.
1. How are the USVSST Fund’s general distributions funded? |
Aside from certain specific and limited appropriations, all funding for the USVSST Fund comes from proceeds of federal enforcement actions.
The Justice for United States Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Act (Act), 34 U.S.C. § 20144(e)(2), mandates that certain case proceeds and penalties forfeited or paid to the United States after December 18, 2015, be transferred to the USVSST Fund.
For forfeiture proceeds, penalty payments, and fine payments to qualify for deposit into the USVSST Fund, the underlying matter must arise from a violation of any license, order, regulation, or prohibition issued under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) or the Trading with the Enemy Act (TWEA), or any related conspiracy, scheme, or other Federal offense arising from the actions of, or doing business with or acting on behalf of, a state sponsor of terrorism. If a case or matter meets the statutory requirements for some or all of the proceeds to be deposited in the USVSST Fund, it is called a “qualifying case.”
2. How much of the qualifying case proceeds go into the USVSST Fund? Does it matter if a qualifying case is civil or criminal? |
For criminal matters, all funds and the net proceeds from the sale of property from qualifying violations must be deposited in the USVSST Fund. For civil matters, effective November 21, 2019, seventy‑five percent of all funds, and seventy‑five percent of the net proceeds from the sale of property, must be deposited into the USVSST Fund. (From December 18, 2015, until November 20, 2019, one‑half of all funds, and one‑half of the net proceeds from the sale of property, qualified for deposit into the USVSST Fund.) The USVSST Fund’s governing statute, 34 U.S.C. § 20144(e)(2), sets these amounts.
3. In addition to whether a case is civil or criminal, are there other factors that may affect the amount of the case proceeds that go into the USVSST Fund? |
The USVSST Fund’s governing statute, 34 U.S.C. § 20144(e)(2), and the particular facts of each case, determine whether some or all of the qualifying case proceeds must be deposited into the USVSST Fund. Even a single case or matter may include qualifying as well as non‑qualifying violations. For example, a case’s violations may involve countries that are designated state sponsors of terrorism (SSTs), as well as countries that are not SSTs. See FAQ 2.9 (“What countries qualify as state sponsors of terrorism?”). In those cases, only the portion of the penalty or fine attributable to the violations involving SSTs qualifies for deposit into the USVSST Fund.
Also, SST designations change over time. A country’s SST designation must be in effect at the time the violation occurred in order for the associated penalty or fine to qualify for deposit into the USVSST Fund. If a country was not designated as an SST at the time the violation occurred, the case would not qualify for the USVSST Fund, even if the country was designated as an SST at a different time.
4. What role does the USVSST Fund play in the qualifying cases? |
The USVSST Fund does not participate in any federal enforcement actions, including those that may result in deposits into the USVSST Fund.
The USVSST Fund does, however, identify and track cases or matters that may lead to future deposits. Department of Justice, Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section (MLARS) attorneys assigned to the USVSST Fund make the legal determination of whether or not a case or matter’s proceeds, or a portion of them, must be deposited into the USVSST Fund. They can complete the required legal and factual analysis only when a case or matter is concluded. The government must have received payment of the fine or penalty before any transfer to the USVSST Fund can occur.
5. How does the USVSST Fund determine what proceeds and penalties qualify for deposit into the Fund? |
In implementing the statute to determine whether a case qualifies for deposit into the Fund, the USVSST Fund determines:
- Does the case involve a state sponsor of terrorism?
If not, including if the violation occurred while the country was not designated, the case cannot qualify. If so:
- Does the case include a violation of any license, order, regulation, or prohibition issued under IEEPA or TWEA?
If so, the case qualifies, and the USVSST Fund determines the qualifying amount. See Qualifying Case FAQ 4 (“What role does the USVSST Fund play in the qualifying cases?”). If not:
- Does the case include any related conspiracy, scheme, or other Federal offense arising from the actions of, or doing business with or acting on behalf of, a state sponsor of terrorism?
If not, the case cannot qualify. If so, the case qualifies, and the USVSST Fund determines the qualifying amount.
6. I saw a press release about a case involving a state sponsor of terrorism and IEEPA/TWEA violations. Why isn’t it listed on the USVSST Fund’s qualifying case deposits list? |
There are a number of reasons why a case may not be listed on the USVSST Fund’s qualifying case deposits webpage.
Only cases with publicly available information are posted on the USVSST Fund’s qualifying case deposits webpage. For example, a sealed case (meaning a court has limited the public information) would not be listed on the USVSST Fund’s website.
Further, Department of Justice, Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section (MLARS) attorneys assigned to the USVSST Fund can complete the required legal and factual analysis only when a case or matter is concluded. The government must have received the qualifying forfeiture proceeds or payment of the fine or penalty before any transfer to the USVSST Fund can occur.
In addition, a case may not appear on the USVSST Fund’s qualifying case deposits webpage because MLARS attorneys assigned to the USVSST Fund determined that the case did not qualify.
Typically, the USVSST Fund updates its qualifying case deposits list at the end of each fiscal quarter. Thus, the absence of a case from the list is not necessarily an indication that the case will not eventually be listed.
7. Would funds received for violations involving a terrorist group, like al-Qaeda or Hamas, qualify for deposit into the USVSST Fund? |
Cases with violations that solely involve a terrorist group – like al-Qaeda or Hamas – and not a state sponsor of terrorism, would not qualify for deposit into the USVSST Fund. See FAQ 2.9 (“What countries qualify as state sponsors of terrorism?”).
8. What are some examples of agencies that are involved in qualifying cases? |
Some examples of agencies whose enforcement actions have resulted in qualifying case deposits are the Department of the Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC); Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS); and Offices of the United States Attorneys.
When the federal enforcement action is complete and the fine, penalty, or forfeiture proceeds have been received by the government, the USVSST Fund coordinates with the appropriate entity to initiate transfer of qualifying amounts.
The USVSST Fund continuously accumulates deposits from qualifying cases. Listed below are cases or matters with publicly available information where some or all of the proceeds qualified for deposit into the USVSST Fund. Note that for matters with deposits in multiple fiscal years, the matter is listed in only the first fiscal year with a deposit. The USVSST Fund updates this list periodically, as additional funds are deposited into the USVSST Fund.
This chart provides information about the qualifying case deposits accumulated by the USVSST Fund. The USVSST Fund will identify the total amount of funds available for payments closer to the time of the next round of distributions.
Cases or matters with deposits received in fiscal year 2023 (last updated July 3, 2023):
- Danfoss A/S
- United States v. Joyce Marie Eliabachus, 19-cr-420 (D.N.J.)
- United States v. Virgil Griffith, 20-cr-15 (S.D.N.Y.)
- United States v. PT Bukit Muria Jaya, 21-cr-14 (D.D.C.)
- Nordgas, S.r.l
- Payward, Inc. d/b/a Kraken
- Toll Holdings Limited
- Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.
Cases or matters with deposits received in fiscal years 2018-2022 (click to expand)
Cases or matters with deposits received before the end of fiscal year 2022 (September 30, 2022):
- Alfa Laval Inc. and Alfa Laval Middle East Ltd. (BIS); Alfa Laval Inc. (OFAC); Alfa Laval Middle East Ltd. (OFAC)
- Alliance Steel, Inc.
- United States v. All Petroleum-Product Cargo Aboard the Bella With International Maritime Organization Number 9208124, et al. , 20-cv-1791 (D.D.C.)
- Bank of China (UK) Limited
- United States v. Ahmadreza Mohammadi Doostdar , 18-cr-255 (D.D.C.)
- United States v. Sadr Emad-Vaez, et al. , 18-cr-160 (N.D. Cal.)
- First Bank of Romania
- An Individual (U.S. Person-1)
- United States v. Arash Yousefi Jam a/k/a Arash Yousefijam , 2:20-cr-20550 (E.D. Mich.)
- Kleiss & Co. BV
- United States v. Erdal Kuyumcu , 16-cr-308 (E.D.N.Y.)
- NewTek, Inc.
- United States v. $1,827,242.65 of Funds Associated With Company 1, et al. , 20‑cv‑2019 (D.D.C.)
- United States v. $141,086.00 Wired to Reekay Technology, Held in a Blocked Funds Account, et al., 18-cv-1697 (D.D.C.)
- United States v. Ali Reza Parsa , 14-cr-710 (S.D.N.Y.)
- Payoneer Inc.
- Schlumberger Rod Lift, Inc.
- United States v. Seyed Sajjad Shahidian , 18-cr-308 (D. Minn.)
- Sojitz (Hong Kong) Limited
- United States v. Matteo Taerri, 18-cr-417 (N.D Ga.)
- TD Bank, N.A.
- United States v. 10 Juniper Hill Rd., Waltham, MA 02452 , 20-cv-11109 (D. Mass.)
- United States v. $3,999,775.90 of Blocked Funds in the Name of Blue Energy Trade LTD Co., et al., 19-cv-1936 (D.D.C.)
Cases or matters with deposits received before the end of fiscal year 2021 (September 30, 2021):
- ACE Limited
- Amazon.com, Inc.
- Avnet Asia Pte. Ltd.
- Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
- BitGo, Inc.
- BitPay, Inc.
- Comtech Telecommunications Corp. and Comtech EF Data Corp.
- United States v. Aiden Davidson, 18-cr-169 (D.N.H.)
- Generali Global Assistance, Inc.
- United States v. Majid Ghorbani, 18-cr-255 (D.D.C.)
- United States v. IC Link Industries, LTD., et al., 17-cr-236 (N.D. Ohio)
- Keysight Technologies, Inc.
- United States v. Beng Sun Koh a/k/a Micheal Koh, 19-cr-2 (D.D.C.)
- United States v. David Russell Levick, 12-cr-52 (D.D.C.)
- United States v. James P. Meharg, 19-cr-71 (N.D. Fla.)
- MoneyGram Payment Systems, Inc.
- MSI Aircraft Maintenance Services International GmbH & Co.
- National Commercial Bank
- United States v. Funds in the Amount of 73,293,750 AED (Approximately $20 Million) in the Possession and Control of Ras Al Khaimah Investment Authority (RAKIA) and All Claims Filed and Asserted by VI2 Partners GMBH Against Ras Al Khaimah Investment Authority Georgia LLC in Case No. 2b/4319- 17 Pending Before the Tblisi Court of Appeals, Republic of Georgia and Proceeds Thereof, 20-cv-126 (D. Alaska)
- SAP SE (BIS); SAP SE
- UniControl, Inc.
- Union de Banques Arabes et Françaises
- Unitrans International, Inc.
- Whitford Worldwide Company, LLC
Cases or matters with deposits received before the end of fiscal year 2020 (September 30, 2020):
- Pouran Aazad, et al.
- United States v. Rasheed Al Jijakli, 17-cr-85 (C.D. Cal.)
- Allianz Global Risks U.S. Insurance Company
- Apollo Aviation Group, LLC
- United States v. Mehmet Hakan Atilla, et al., 15-cr-867 (S.D.N.Y.)
- United States v. Peyman Manouchehr Azimi, 13-cr-215 (S.D.N.Y.)
- BIOMIN America, Inc.
- British Arab Commercial Bank plc
- Cubasphere Inc., et al.
- United States v. Essentra FZE Company Limited, 20-cr-112 (D.D.C.)
- Expedia Group, Inc.
- United States v. $51,000,000 in United States Currency, 20-cv-3123 (S.D.N.Y.)
- United States v. FIMCO FZE, 12-cr-306 (M.D. Pa.)
- General Electric Company
- Ghaddar Machinery Co., SAL
- Hotelbeds USA, Inc.
- PACCAR Inc.
- Société Internationale de Télécommunications Aéronautiques SCRL
- United States v. Olaf Tepper, 18-cr-75 (N.D.N.Y.)
- United States v. $148,500 of Blocked Funds in the Name of Trans Multi Mechanics, Co. Ltd., et al., 16-cv-1029 (D.D.C.)
- ZAG IP, LLC
Cases or matters with deposits received before the end of fiscal year 2019 (September 30, 2019):
- Acteon Group, Ltd., 2H Offshore Engineering Ltd., and KKR & Co. Inc.
- AppliChem GmbH
- United States v. Robert J. Cabelly, 09-cr-278 (D.D.C.)
- United States v. Ali Caby, et al., 16-cr-20803 (S.D. Fla.)
- United States v. Asim Fareed, 16-cr-126 (M.D. Pa.)
- United States v. Ghobad Ghasempour, 18-cr-80 (W.D. Wash)
- JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A.
- Kollmorgen Corporation
- MID-SHIP Group, LLC
- Shai Gear LLC
- United States v. Ahmad Sheikhzadeh, 15-cr-182 (E.D.N.Y.)
- Société Générale S.A. (OFAC); Société Générale S.A. (Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System); United States v. $717,200,000 in United States Currency, 18-cv-10783 (S.D.N.Y.)
- United States v. Standard Chartered Bank, 12-cr-262 (D.D.C.); Standard Chartered (Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System)
- Stanley Black & Decker, Inc.
- United States v. Trafigura AG, 06-cr-64 (S.D. Tex.)
- United States v. UniCredit Bank AG, 19-cr-128 (D.D.C.); UniCredit (OFAC); UniCredit (Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System)
- Yantai Jereh Oilfield Services Group Co., Ltd. (OFAC); Yantai Jereh Oilfield Services Group Co., Ltd. (BIS)
Cases or matters with deposits received before the end of fiscal year 2018 (September 30, 2018):
- Aban Offshore Limited
- Aiman Ammar et al.
- Alcon Laboratories, Inc., Alcon Pharmaceuticals Ltd., and Alcon Management, SA (OFAC); Alcon Pharmaceuticals Ltd. And Alcon Laboratories (BIS)
- American Export Lines and International Shipping Company
- American Honda Finance Corporation
- American International Group, Inc.
- An Individual and the Alliance for Responsible Cuba Policy Foundation
- Barracuda Networks, Inc. and Barracuda Networks, Ltd.
- BCC Corporate SA
- BD White Birch Investment LLC
- Chemical Partners Europe S.A.
- COSL Singapore Ltd.
- CSE Global Limited and TransTel Pte. Limited
- Dentsply Sirona Inc.
- EgyptAir Airlines Company
- Ericsson
- Halliburton Atlantic Limited and Halliburton Overseas Limited
- Hassan Zafari
- HyperBranch Medical Technology, Inc.
- United States v. $156,000,000 in U.S. Currency Belonging to Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, 15-cv-1732 (D.D.C.)
- IPSA International Services, Inc.
- National Oilwell Varco, Inc. (OFAC); National Oilwell Varco Inc. and Dreco Energy Services Ltd. (BIS)
- PanAmerican Seed Company
- Technoline SAL
- Toronto-Dominion Bank
- United Medical Instruments, Inc.
- United States v. All Right, Title, and Interest in 220 East 65th Street, Unit 18C, New York, New York; All Right, Title and Interest in 240 East 47th Street, Units 37E and 37F, New York, New York, 14-cv-8012 (S.D.N.Y.)
- United States v. Fokker Services B.V. , 14-cr-121 (D.D.C.); see also United States v. Fokker Services B.V. , 818 F.3d 733 (D.C. Cir. 2016)
- United States v. Pasha Int'l , 14-cr-240 (S.D. Cal.)
- United States v. Real Property Located at 11621 Alderwood Loop, Anchorage, Alaska et al., 14-cv-65 (D. Alaska)
- United States v. ZTE Corporation , 17-cr-120 (N.D. Tex.) (criminal fine and forfeiture, and special assessment); see also Zhongxing Telecommunications Equipment Corporation (civil penalty); Zhongxing Telecommunications Equipment Corporation and ZTE Kangxun Telecommunications Ltd. (civil penalty); Zhongxing Telecommunications Equipment Corporation and ZTE Kangxun Telecommunications Ltd. (superseding civil penalty)
- WATG Holdings, Inc. and Its Subsidiary, Wimberly Allison Tong and Goo
- World Class Technology Corporation
- Worthington Products, Inc. and Paul Meeks