Department of Treasury Releases CFIUS Enforcement and Penalty Guidelines

美财政部公布CFIUS执法与处罚指南

        On October 25, 2022, the U.S. Department of Treasury released the CFIUS Enforcement and Penalty Guidelines (the “Guidelines”). Such Guidelines are a new step in the evolving development of CFIUS review procedures after the expansion of its staff and funding under the Consolidated Appropriations Act in March 2022, as our prior newsletter described.

        The Guidelines clarify four issues: First, The Types of Conduct that may constitute a violation; Second, Sources of Information on which CFIUS Relies; third, Penalty Process; fourth, Aggravating and Mitigating Factors.

        First, the Guidelines point out three potentially unlawful conducts: Failure to File, Non-Compliance with CFIUS Mitigation, and Material Misstatement, Omission, or False Certification. Second, regarding the sources of information on which CFIUS relies, the Guidelines note that the committee considers a wide range of sources but emphasize three sources in particular: Tips, Self-Disclosure, and Requests for Information. Third, the Guidelines address that a violation does not necessarily lead to a penalty but outline two important steps in the penalty process: Notice; Contest and Assessment. Fourth, in determining the appropriate response to a violation, the Guidelines point out that CFIUS considers a series of aggravating and mitigating factors. The Guidelines list six relevant factors: Accountability and Future Compliance; Harm; Negligence, Awareness, and Intent; Persistence and Timing; Response and Remediation; Sophistication and Record of Compliance.

        This is the first time that CFIUS clarifies its otherwise obscure procedures. However, this Guideline is non-binding and CFIUS retains broad discretion with respect to its enforcement and penalty decisions. Indeed, listing those potentially unlawful conducts may forewarn investors. To be sure, investors should be cautious in making their filing/non-filing decisions and be especially careful to ensure the completeness and accuracy of information submitted to CFIUS during the review process.

​

        2022年10月25日，美国财政部发布了《外国投资委员会执法和处罚指南》（以下简称《指南》）。正如我们之前的通讯消息所描述的那样，在2022年3月《综合拨款法》扩大商务部工作人员和资金后，该《指南》是外国投资委员会审查程序的深入发展。

 该《指南》澄清了四个问题。第一，可能构成违法的行为类型；第二，外国投资委员会所依赖的信息来源；第三，处罚程序；第四，加重和减轻处罚的因素。

        首先，准则指出了三种可能的非法行为。未提交审查，不遵守外国投资委员会的缓解措施，以及重大错报、漏报或虚假证明。第二，关于外国投资委员会所依赖的信息来源，《指南》指出，委员会将考虑广泛的信息来源，但特别强调了三个来源。线索、自我披露和信息请求。第三，《指南》提到，违规行为不一定会导致处罚，但概述了处罚过程中的两个重要步骤。通知；异议和评估。第四，在决定对违规行为如何处罚时，《指南》指出，美国外国投资委员会会考虑一系列的加重和减轻处罚因素。《指南》列出了六个相关因素。责任和未来的合规性；危害；过失、意识和意图；持续时间；回应和补救；对规则的了解程度和合规记录。

        这是美国外国投资委员会首次澄清其原本并未公布的程序。然而，该《指南》不具有法律上的约束力，并且外国投资委员会对其执法和处罚决定保留了广泛的自由裁量权。事实上，列出这些潜在的非法行为可能会给投资者带来警示。可以肯定的是，投资者在做出申请/不申请的决定时应该谨慎，并特别注意在审查过程中确保提交给外国投资委员会的信息的完整性和准确性。