CLARITY Act Targets North Korea's Lazarus Group Illicit Funds
Crypto sanctions on Iran are now possible thanks to Section 303 of the CLARITY Act, which enables new special-measure authority for the Treasury Department. This provision allows the department to designate foreign jurisdictions or financial institutions as a 'primary money laundering concern' specifically for digital asset activity.
Once a jurisdiction is designated, covered exchanges and stablecoin issuers must prohibit or restrict fund transfers involving it. Section 305 of the bill works at the transaction level, allowing exchange operators and stablecoin issuers to place a 30-day hold on any transaction they have reason to believe involves illicit activity.
The CLARITY Act also extends Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) anti-money laundering (AML) requirements to digital asset firms for the first time. This is part of more than 16 illicit-finance safeguards built into the bill, according to lead sponsor Cynthia Lummis.