§ 986. — Subpoenas for bank records.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 18USC986]
TITLE 18--CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE
PART I--CRIMES
CHAPTER 46--FORFEITURE
Sec. 986. Subpoenas for bank records
(a) At any time after the commencement of any action for forfeiture
in rem brought by the United States under section 1956, 1957, or 1960 of
this title, section 5322 or 5324 of title 31, United States Code, or the
Controlled Substances Act, any party may request the Clerk of the Court
in the district in which the proceeding is pending to issue a subpoena
duces tecum to any financial institution, as defined in section 5312(a)
of title 31, United States Code, to produce books, records and any other
documents at any place designated by the requesting party. All parties
to the proceeding shall be notified of the issuance of any such
subpoena. The procedures and limitations set forth in section 985 \1\ of
this title shall apply to subpoenas issued under this section.
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\1\ See References in Text note below.
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(b) Service of a subpoena issued pursuant to this section shall be
by certified mail. Records produced in response to such a subpoena may
be produced in person or by mail, common carrier, or such other method
as may be agreed upon by the party requesting the subpoena and the
custodian of records. The party requesting the subpoena may require the
custodian of records to submit an affidavit certifying the authenticity
and completeness of the records and explaining the omission of any
record called for in the subpoena.
(c) Nothing in this section shall preclude any party from pursuing
any form of discovery pursuant to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
(d) Access to Records in Bank Secrecy Jurisdictions.--
(1) In general.--In any civil forfeiture case, or in any
ancillary proceeding in any criminal forfeiture case governed by
section 413(n) of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 853(n)),
in which--
(A) financial records located in a foreign country may be
material--
(i) to any claim or to the ability of the Government to
respond to such claim; or
(ii) in a civil forfeiture case, to the ability of the
Government to establish the forfeitability of the property;
and
(B) it is within the capacity of the claimant to waive the
claimant's rights under applicable financial secrecy laws, or to
obtain the records so that such records can be made available
notwithstanding such secrecy laws,
the refusal of the claimant to provide the records in response to a
discovery request or to take the action necessary otherwise to make
the records available shall be grounds for judicial sanctions, up to
and including dismissal of the claim with prejudice.
(2) Privilege.--This subsection shall not affect the right of
the claimant to refuse production on the basis of any privilege
guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States or any other
provision of Federal law.
(Added Pub. L. 102-550, title XV, Sec. 1523(a), Oct. 28, 1992, 106 Stat.
4063; amended Pub. L. 103-325, title IV, Sec. 411(c)(2)(E), Sept. 23,
1994, 108 Stat. 2253; Pub. L. 106-185, Sec. 17, Apr. 25, 2000, 114 Stat.
221.)
References in Text
The Controlled Substances Act, referred to in subsec. (a), is title
II of Pub. L. 91-513, Oct. 27, 1970, 84 Stat. 1242, as amended, which is
classified principally to subchapter I (Sec. 801 et seq.) of chapter 13
of Title 21, Food and Drugs. For complete classification of this Act to
the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 801 of Title 21 and
Tables.
Section 985 of this title, referred to in subsec. (a), was enacted
by Pub. L. 106-185, and relates to civil forfeitures of real property
and not to procedures and limitations for subpoenas. The reference to
section 985 was included in this section when it was enacted by Pub. L.
102-550, but at that time there was no section 985 of this title.
The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, referred to in subsec. (c),
are set out in Title 28, Appendix, Judiciary and Judicial Procedure.
Amendments
2000--Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 106-185 added subsec. (d).
1994--Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 103-325 substituted ``section 5322 or
5324 of title 31'' for ``section 5322 of title 31''.
Effective Date of 2000 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 106-185 applicable to any forfeiture proceeding
commenced on or after the date that is 120 days after Apr. 25, 2000, see
section 21 of Pub. L. 106-185, set out as a note under section 1324 of
Title 8, Aliens and Nationality.
