The U.S. Department of the Treasury has issued a rule strengthening the penalty and enforcement authorities of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. CFIUS is an interagency committee that oversees transactions involving foreign actors purchasing real estate and assesses their impact on U.S. national security.
“This rule enhances CFIUS’ ability to vigorously defend the national security of the United States by ensuring our investment screening regime has a sharper scalpel to more quickly and effectively address national security risks that arise in CFIUS reviews,” said Paul Rosen, assistant secretary investment security at the Treasury.
The department issued the regulation as CFIUS chair, updating the monitoring and enforcement provisions associated with foreign investment regulations and the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act of 2018.
The final rule includes revisions to expand the types of information CFIUS can mandate transaction parties and other persons submit, increase the maximum civil monetary penalty associated with violating CFIUS statutes and provisions, and expand the coverage of circumstances in which a civil monetary penalty may be imposed when a party misstated or omitted vital information.
Proposals to amend CFIUS’ authorities came up in April, led by the Treasury, citing the need to include certain provisions to enable the committee to protect Americans while supporting the government’s open investment policy.