[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 410 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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116th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 410
To require the Comptroller General of the United States to carry out a
study on how virtual currencies and online marketplaces are used to
buy, sell, or facilitate the financing of goods or services associated
with sex trafficking or drug trafficking, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
February 7, 2019
Ms. Cortez Masto (for herself and Mr. Toomey) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking,
Housing, and Urban Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Comptroller General of the United States to carry out a
study on how virtual currencies and online marketplaces are used to
buy, sell, or facilitate the financing of goods or services associated
with sex trafficking or drug trafficking, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Fight Illicit Networks and Detect
Trafficking Act'' or the ``FIND Trafficking Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) According to the Drug Enforcement Administration 2017
National Drug Threat Assessment, transnational criminal
organizations are increasingly using virtual currencies.
(2) In the 2015 National Money Laundering Risk Assessment,
the Department of the Treasury concluded: ``The development of
virtual currencies is an attempt to meet a legitimate market
demand. According to a Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago
economist, United States consumers want payment options that
are versatile and that provide immediate finality. No United
States payment method meets that description, although cash may
come closest. Virtual currencies can mimic cash's immediate
finality and anonymity and are more versatile than cash for
online and cross-border transactions, making virtual currencies
vulnerable for illicit transactions.''.
(3) Virtual currencies have become a prominent method to
pay for goods and services associated with illegal sex
trafficking and drug trafficking, which are two of the most
detrimental and troubling illegal activities facilitated by
online marketplaces.
(4) Online marketplaces, including the dark web, have
become a prominent platform to buy, sell, and advertise for
illicit goods and services associated with sex trafficking and
drug trafficking.
(5) According to the International Labour Organization, in
2016, 4,800,000 people in the world were victims of forced
sexual exploitation, and in 2014, the global profit from
commercial sexual exploitation was $99,000,000,000.
(6) In 2016, within the United States, the Center for
Disease Control estimated that there were 64,000 deaths related
to drug overdose, and the most severe increase in drug
overdoses were those associated with fentanyl and fentanyl
analogs (synthetic opioids), which amounted to over 20,000
overdose deaths.
(7) According to the 2015 National Money Laundering Risk
Assessment published by the Department of the Treasury, an
estimated $64,000,000,000 is generated annually from United
States drug trafficking sales.
(8) Illegal fentanyl in the United States originates
primarily from China, and it is readily available to purchase
through online marketplaces.
SEC. 3. GAO STUDY.
(a) Study Required.--The Comptroller General of the United States
shall conduct a study on how virtual currencies and online marketplaces
are used to facilitate sex and drug trafficking. The study shall
consider--
(1) how online marketplaces, including the dark web, are
being used as platforms to buy, sell, or facilitate the
financing of goods or services associated with sex trafficking
or drug trafficking (specifically, opioids and synthetic
opioids, including fentanyl, fentanyl analogs, and any
precursor chemicals associated with manufacturing fentanyl or
fentanyl analogs) destined for, originating from, or within the
United States;
(2) how financial payment methods, including virtual
currencies and peer-to-peer mobile payment services, are being
utilized by online marketplaces to facilitate the buying,
selling, or financing of goods and services associated with sex
or drug trafficking destined for, originating from, or within
the United States;
(3) how virtual currencies are being used to facilitate the
buying, selling, or financing of goods and services associated
with sex or drug trafficking, destined for, originating from,
or within the United States, when an online platform is not
otherwise involved;
(4) how illicit funds that have been transmitted online and
through virtual currencies are repatriated into the formal
banking system of the United States through money laundering or
other means;
(5) the participants (state and non-state actors)
throughout the entire supply chain that participate in or
benefit from the buying, selling, or financing of goods and
services associated with sex or drug trafficking (either
through online marketplaces or virtual currencies) destined
for, originating from, or within the United States;
(6) Federal and State agency efforts to impede the buying,
selling, or financing of goods and services associated with sex
or drug trafficking through online marketplaces or virtual
currencies destined for, originating from, or within the United
States, including efforts to prevent the proceeds from sex or
drug trafficking from entering the United States banking system
through online marketplaces or virtual currencies;
(7) how virtual currencies and their underlying
technologies can be used to detect and deter these illicit
activities; and
(8) to what extent can the immutable and traceable nature
of virtual currencies contribute to the tracking and
prosecution of illicit funding.
(b) Scope.--For the purposes of the study required under subsection
(a), the term ``sex trafficking'' means the recruitment, harboring,
transportation, provision, obtaining, patronizing, or soliciting of a
person for the purpose of a commercial sex act that is induced by
force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform
such act has not attained 18 years of age.
(c) Report to Congress.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States
shall submit to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of
the Senate and the Committee on Financial Services of the House of
Representatives a report summarizing the results of the study required
under subsection (a), together with any recommendations for legislative
or regulatory action that would improve the efforts of Federal agencies
to impede the use of virtual currencies and online marketplaces in
facilitating sex and drug trafficking.
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