The Treasury Department yesterday issued a final rule to “enhance” the authorities of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, or CFIUS, which reviews certain foreign investments and real estate transactions to determine whether they pose a national security risk. The department serves as chair of CFIUS.
According to a Treasury summary, the final rule makes several changes. They include expanding the types of information CFIUS can require parties to submit, allowing the CFIUS staff chairperson to set a timeline for parties to respond to risk mitigation proposals, and expanding the circumstances in which a civil monetary penalty may be imposed due to a party’s material misstatement and omission.
Other changes include an increase in the maximum civil monetary penalty available for violations of CFIUS statute and regulations, an expansion of the committee’s subpoena authority, and an extension of the time frame for petitioning CFIUS to reconsider a penalty as well as the number of days to respond to the petition.
