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Reps. Kustoff, Gottheimer Reintroduce Bipartisan Legislation to Expose the Corruption of the Iranian Regime

February 9, 2023

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Representatives David Kustoff (TN-08) and Josh Gottheimer (NJ-05) reintroduced the bipartisan Stop Corrupt Iranian Oligarchs and Entities Act. This bill would direct the Department of the Treasury, in consultation with the Department of State and Director of National Intelligence, to identify and compile a list of Iranian oligarchs and entities that are ultimately profiting off the Iranian people. 

This important legislation is endorsed by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).

"Over the years, the world has witnessed Iran become a state sponsor of terrorism, commit horrific human rights abuses, build up its nuclear weapons capability, and endanger our most important ally and friend in the Middle East, Israel, through acts of terrorism," said Congressman Kustoff. "It is no secret that as the brave Iranian people suffer on a daily basis, their leaders have amassed tremendous personal wealth from their positions, funneling funds to terrorist groups like Hamas and Hezbollah. Enough is enough — we cannot allow Iranian belligerence to continue and escalate. Thank you to Representative Gottheimer for joining me in introducing this critical bill to exert maximum pressure on Iran and expose the corrupt nature of this dangerous regime. I urge my colleagues to support this commonsense legislation."

“Ordinary Iranian citizens have long suffered at the hands of the corrupt Iranian regime. Democratic protests in Iran have now lasted more than 100 days, and the Khamenei regime has continued its brutal crackdown on innocent demonstrators. The Ayatollah and his cronies continue to fund foreign adventurism and heinous terrorist groups like Hamas and Hezbollah, all while enriching corrupt, regime-connected officials at their expense. This critical bipartisan legislation will create a public report exposing Iranian leaders' corruption, distortion, and mismanagement of Iran’s economy, including funding foreign terrorist organizations which threaten the U.S and our allies, like Israel,” said Congressman Gottheimer.

Background:
This year marks the 44th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution in Iran. Since then, Iranian leaders have amassed hundreds of millions of dollars of wealth from their positions. They continue to enrich themselves from public funds, while their people struggle. The government has refused to make any changes within the regime to address this corruption. Additionally, Iran’s financial terror network in the Middle East funnels more than $1 billion annually to their proxy organizations such as Hamas, Hezbollah, Iraqi militias, and the Assad regime. 
 
The Stop Corrupt Iranian Oligarchs and Entities Act would direct the U.S. Department of the Treasury, in consultation with the Department of State and Director of National Intelligence, to identify and compile a list of Iranian oligarchs and entities that are ultimately profiting off the Iranian people. Iranian oligarchs and foreign political figures are determined by their closeness to the Iranian regime and their net worth. 

 

Click here to read the full text of the bill.
 

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