STUDY ON ELIMINATION OF CAPITAL FLIGHT.

SEC. 404. STUDY ON ELIMINATION OF CAPITAL FLIGHT. (a) In General.—The Secretary of the Treasury shall instruct the United States Executive Director of the International Monetary Fund to propose that the Fund conduct a study on multilateral means by which the banking industry might help reverse capital flight from countries which are engaged in debt restructuring, including— (1) the feasibility of disclosing the names of account holders whose accounts may consist of flight capital, and the balances of such accounts; (2) the usefulness of such disclosures in deterring the creation and maintenance of such accounts, and how such deterrence would operate or be defeated; (3) the extent to which any such information is gathered and to whom such information is made available; (4) the receptiveness of such countries to the disclosure of such information; (5) the difficulties in, and the cost of, collecting such information and overcoming legal obstacles used to disguise the true ownership of such deposits, including the feasibility of using the threat of confiscatory penalties to prevent the disguising of the ownership of deposits; (6) the usefulness of using taxes as a means to encourage the repatriation of flight capital; and (7) the applicability (if any) of efforts to facilitate the identification, tracing, seizure, and forfeiture of drug crime proceeds, and to prevent the use of the banking system and of financial institutions for the purpose of money laundering. (b) Flight Capital Defined.—As used in subsection (a), the term “flight capital” means any asset— (1) (A) which is deposited in a banking institution for safekeeping or investment purposes; or (B) for which a financial institution serves as a conduit, an agent, or a fiduciary in a transaction; and (2) the owner of which may be a legal resident of a country other than the country in which the institution is located. (c) Report to the Congress.—Not later than the end of the 180-day period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury shall submit to the Chairman of the Committee on Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs of the House of Representatives, and the Committee on Banking, Housing, and 103 STAT. 2504 Urban Affairs of the Senate a report on the actions taken and studies completed as required by subsection (a).