Representative Hill's legislation to provide transparency into financial corruption of Iranian leaders passes House

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, Rep. French Hill’s (R-AR) bill with Rep. Juan Vargas (D-CA), H.R. 6245, the Holding Iranian Leaders Accountable Act, passed the House Floor with a bipartisan vote of 419-4. 

Rep. Hill said, “Iran’s attacks on Israel are the latest example of their terror that continues to plague the world. The Iranian regime is the top sponsor of terrorism who enables terrorist groups like Hamas and Hezbollah to carry out their brutal attacks against innocent civilians in the Middle East and beyond. The United States must take action to assess the finances of Iran’s authoritarian leaders and crack down on financial institutions that are connected to their funds to hinder their terror financing abilities – my bill that passed the House Floor today does just that. 

“Ayatollah Khamenei and his theocratic leaders have been in power for 30 years. His family wealth is estimated to be in the billions while roughly 60% of Iranians live in poverty. Publishing the level of corruption and theft by Iranian leaders and offering it in English, Farsi, Arabic and Azeri will demonstrate to the citizens of Iran how they have been misled.” 

Rep. Vargas said, "After decades of funding terrorism against the United States and our allies and using its proxies to sow chaos, Iran has now launched a direct and reckless attack on Israel. We must take a bipartisan approach to addressing this unprecedented threat. This legislation, which was introduced with my friend and colleague, French Hill, will help provide transparency into the financial corruption of the Iranian regime and hold them accountable." 

Further Background: 

Holding Iranian Leaders Accountable Act: This bill would require the Department of the Treasury to brief Congress on the finances of Iranian leadership and require financial institutions to close accounts connected to these individuals. This legislation will provide a valuable window into the corrupt business practices of Iran’s top kleptocrats and limit their financial holdings which are used to support and sponsor terrorism.