The National Security Act of 2024 contains the most comprehensive expansion of sanctions against the international narcotics trade since the promulgation of the original Fentanyl Sanctions Act. The Fentanyl Eradication and Narcotics Deterrence (FEND) Off Fentanyl Act, the central fentanyl provision included in the law, is the product of a broad and bipartisan consensus. This legislation prioritizes counternarcotics and cartel-related sanctions and creates necessary oversight mechanisms to promote their aggressive enforcement.
Below is an oversight guide and calendar for the new FEND Off Fentanyl Act.
This FEND Off Fentanyl Act significantly expands sanctions against foreign individuals and entities involved in the production and trafficking of fentanyl or related opioids, including designated transnational criminal organizations and specified drug cartels in Mexico. Specifically, the new legislation:
• Mandates sanctions against anyone involved in the “trafficking of fentanyl, fentanyl precursors, or other related opioids” or other activities of a transnational criminal organization (TCO) that engages in such trafficking.
• Expands and directs forfeiture authorities for any property seized for prohibited conduct. Oversight Opportunity – Congress must ensure that the administration not only issues updates to regulations on time but also engages in significant enforcement actions. This includes sanctions designations, criminal prosecution, and civil penalties for sanctions violations—particularly going after major banks that are involved in the narcotics trade.
• Extends the statute of limitations for sanctions violations under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) from five to ten years, which governs civil penalties and criminal prosecution for sanctions violations. This applies to most sanctions programs administered by the Treasury Department and other federal government programs authorized under IEEPA, including export controls and other programs administered by the Department of Justice. Oversight Opportunity – To ensure the IEEPA amendments’ effective implementation and enforcement, Congress can send the message to the private sector that banks, financial institutions, and companies will have to update their compliance programs and activities to account for the change in the law. Congress can also ensure that the executive branch enforces these changes in a manner consistent with the intent of Congress and amends regulations and guidance appropriately.
• Authorizes the Treasury Department to require domestic financial institutions and agencies to take existing anti-money laundering special measures against foreign entities suspected of engaging in money laundering related to opioid trafficking. Oversight Opportunity – Congress should ensure this new authority’s regulatory implementation and enforcement are properly exercised.
• April 24, 2024—The changes to the law and sanctions took effect immediately.
• October 21, 2024—The first annual report from the President on actions taken by the executive branch related to this division and any national emergency declared on fentanyl trafficking and trade in other illicit drugs is due (Sec. 3102(b) of Division E).
• October 21, 2024—The first annual report from the President on the actions taken by the executive branch on the persons that the President determined to have been involved in fentanyl trafficking by TCOs is due (Sec. 3103(c) of Division E).
• October 21, 2024—The first report from the President on the treatment of foreign property of TCOs is due (Sec. 3105(a)(2) of Division E). It is due every 180 days thereafter.
• October 21, 2024—The Treasury Department’s Director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) must provide a one-time classified report and briefing on OFAC’s staffing to the appropriate congressional committees (Sec. 3112 of Division E).
• October 21, 2024—The Secretary of the Treasury, in conjunction with the heads of other federal agencies, must provide a one-time classified report and briefing on efforts to target drug transportation routes and modalities to the appropriate congressional committees (Sec. 3113 of Division E). This includes the use of false cargo labeling and shipment of precursor chemicals.
• October 21, 2024— The Secretary of the Treasury, in conjunction with the heads of other federal agencies, must provide a one-time classified report and briefing on actions taken by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) on persons involved in fentanyl trafficking and its supply chain (Sec. 3114 of Division E). This includes the shipment of fentanyl, fentanyl analogues and precursors, and fentanyl manufacturing equipment.
• March 2025— The Secretary of the Treasury must provide a report on trade-based money laundering originating in Mexico or the PRC that involves Burma (Sec. 3203 of Division E). It is to be included in the next update to the national strategy for combating the financing of terrorism and related forms of illicit finance, which is expected in March 2025.