12 U.S.C. § 4225 — Rights of declarants; participation in ac-

Page 1623 TITLE 12—BANKS AND BANKING § 4225 1 So in original. Probably should be section ‘‘1833a(c)’’. 1 See References in Text note below. information contained in a declaration may be disclosed as required by duly issued and author- ized legal process. (2) The Attorney General may in a cir- cumstance described in paragraph (1) notify a declarant that continued confidentiality is re- quired under this subsection notwithstanding paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (a). (c) Loss of rights A declarant who discloses, except as provided by this subchapter, the existence or filing of a declaration or the contents thereof to anyone other than a duly authorized Federal or State investigator or the declarant’s attorney shall immediately lose all rights under this sub- chapter. (Pub. L. 101–647, title XXV, § 2578, Nov. 29, 1990, 104 Stat. 4900.) § 4224. Ineligibility to file valid declarations (a) In general A declaration filed pursuant to section 4221 of this title and in accordance with sections 4222 and 4223 of this title is valid unless— (1) the declaration is filed by a current or former officer or employee of a Federal or State government agency or instrumentality who discovered or gathered the information in the declaration, in whole or in part, while act- ing within the course of the declarant’s gov- ernment employment; (2) the declaration is filed by a person who knowingly participated in the violation of sec- tion 1517 of title 18 or any of the sections of title 18 referred to in section 4201 1 of this title, or any other fraudulent conduct with respect to which the declaration is made; (3) the declaration is filed by an institution- affiliated party (as defined in section 1813(u) of this title) who withheld information during the course of any bank examination or inves- tigation authorized pursuant to section 1820 of this title which such party owed a fiduciary duty to disclose; (4) the declaration is filed by a member of the immediate family of the individual whose activities are the subject of the declaration or where, in the discretion of the Attorney Gen- eral, it appears the individual could benefit from the award; or (5) the declaration identifies an asset or as- sets the nature, location, or possible recovery of which has been disclosed to a member of the public in a criminal, civil, or administrative proceeding, in a congressional, administrative, or Government Accountability Office report, hearing, audit or investigation, by any other government source, or by the news media, un- less the person providing the declaration is the original source of the information. (b) ‘‘Original source’’ defined For the purposes of subsection (a)(5), the term ‘‘original source’’ means a person who has direct and independent knowledge of the information contained in the declaration and who volun- tarily provided the information to the govern- ment prior to the disclosure. (c) Notice of invalidity If the Attorney General determines at any time that a declaration is invalid under this sec- tion, that a declaration fails to meet the re- quirements of section 4222 of this title, or that a declaration has been disclosed in violation of section 4223 of this title, the Attorney General shall notify the person who filed the declaration in writing that the declaration is invalid, and the declarant shall not enjoy any of the rights of the declarant listed in section 4225 or 4226 of this title. (Pub. L. 101–647, title XXV, § 2579, Nov. 29, 1990, 104 Stat. 4900; Pub. L. 108–271, § 8(b), July 7, 2004, 118 Stat. 814.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 2004—Subsec. (a)(5). Pub. L. 108–271 substituted ‘‘Gov- ernment Accountability Office’’ for ‘‘General Account- ing Office’’. § 4225. Rights of declarants; participation in ac- tions, awards (a) In general A person who has filed a declaration that meets the requirements of sections 4221 through 4224 of this title shall have the rights stated in this section. (b) Civil action If the Attorney General determines that a pro- ceeding to recover the asset or assets identified in the declaration should be referred to private counsel pursuant to subchapter III, the declar- ant, after consultation with the Attorney Gen- eral, shall have the right to select counsel to prosecute the action, and the declarant and the declarant’s counsel shall act in accordance with subchapter III. (c) Share of assets When the United States recovers any asset or assets specifically identified in a valid declara- tion filed under section 4221 of this title and the Attorney General determines that the asset or assets would not have been recovered if the dec- laration had not been filed, the declarant shall have the right to share in the recovery in the amount of 20 percent to 30 percent of any recov- ery up to the first $1,000,000 recovered, 10 percent to 20 percent of the next $4,000,000 recovered, and 5 percent to 10 percent of the next $5,000,000 re- covered. (d) Prohibition of double awards (1) No person shall receive both an award under this section and a reward under either sec- tion 1831k of this title or section 3509A 1 of title 18 for providing the same or substantially simi- lar information. (2) When a person qualifies for both an award under this section and a reward under either sec- tion 1831k of this title or section 3509A 1 of title 18 for providing the same or substantially simi- lar information, the person may notify the At- torney General in writing of the person’s elec- tion to seek an award under this section or a re- ward under such other section. Page 1624 TITLE 12—BANKS AND BANKING § 4226 1 See References in Text note below. (e) Appropriate Federal banking agency excep- tion For purposes of this section, funds or assets acquired by the United States shall not include any funds or assets acquired by any appropriate Federal banking agency acting in any capacity or the Resolution Trust Corporation acting in any capacity, except for any civil money pen- alties recovered by a Federal banking agency through a final judgement, order, or settlement. (Pub. L. 101–647, title XXV, § 2580, Nov. 29, 1990, 104 Stat. 4901.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT Section 3509A of title 18, referred to in subsec. (d), probably is a reference to former section 3059A of title 18, which was repealed by Pub. L. 107–273, div. A, title III, § 301(c)(2), Nov. 2, 2002, 116 Stat. 1781. § 4226. Rights of declarants; notifications; Gov- ernment accountability (a) In general A person who has filed a declaration that meets the requirements of sections 4221 through 4224 of this title shall have the rights stated in this section. (b) Notice of decision not to pursue If, after review, the Attorney General con- cludes that the information contained in a dec- laration should not be pursued in a proceeding to recover the asset or assets, the Attorney Gen- eral shall so notify the declarant in writing and shall provide a brief statement of the reasons that the declaration will not be pursued. (c) Judgment, order, or settlement (1) When the United States obtains a final judgment, order, or settlement transferring to the United States title to an asset or assets identified in a valid declaration filed under sec- tion 4221 1 of this title, the Attorney General shall notify the declarant in writing of the entry of the judgment, order, or settlement. (2) A notice described in paragraph (1) shall contain— (A) the Attorney General’s determination of the amount of the award due the declarant under section 4225(c) of this title upon recov- ery by the United States; and (B) a short statement of reasons for the amount of the award. (d) Notice of pendency of investigation or pro- ceeding (1) Subject to paragraph (2), if the Attorney General has not provided the declarant with no- tice under subsection (b) or a notice of inva- lidity pursuant to section 4224 of this title with- in 1 year after the date of filing of the declara- tion, the Attorney General shall notify the de- clarant in writing that— (A) there is a pending investigation or pro- ceeding in the course of which the declarant’s allegations are being addressed; or (B) the declarant’s allegations have not yet been addressed. (2) If the Attorney General certifies that it is in the interest of the United States to give fur- ther consideration to the information provided in the declaration for an additional 90-day pe- riod, the Attorney General shall so notify the declarant in writing. (e) Confidentiality of notices All notices provided to a declarant under this section shall be kept confidential by the declar- ant in the same manner, and subject to the same penalties, as the declaration under section 4223 of this title. (Pub. L. 101–647, title XXV, § 2581, Nov. 29, 1990, 104 Stat. 4902.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT Section 4221 of this title, referred to in subsec. (c)(1), was in the original ‘‘section 831’’, and was translated as reading ‘‘section 2576’’, meaning section 2576 of Pub. L. 101–647, as the probable intent of Congress, because Pub. L. 101–647 does not contain a section 831. § 4227. Unreviewed declarations; petition to pur- sue action as private contractor (a) Notification (1) If, pursuant to section 4226(d)(1)(B) of this title, the Attorney General notifies a declarant that the declarant’s allegations have not yet been addressed, the declarant may notify the Attorney General to award a contract pursuant to subchapter III to pursue the case. (2) A declarant’s notification under paragraph (1) shall be filed with the Attorney General not later than 30 days after the date of service of no- tice under section 4226(d)(1)(B) of this title, and the Attorney General shall respond to the noti- fication not later than 30 days after receipt. (b) Contents of response In response to a notification under subsection (a)(1), the Attorney General shall— (1) grant a contract pursuant to subchapter III; or (2) proceed with an action. (c) Grant of contract If the Attorney General decides to grant a con- tract, the declarant, after consultation with the Attorney General, shall have the right to select counsel to prosecute an action, and the declar- ant and the declarant’s counsel shall act in ac- cordance with subchapter III. (Pub. L. 101–647, title XXV, § 2582, Nov. 29, 1990, 104 Stat. 4903.) § 4228. Nonreviewability of action by Attorney General Notwithstanding any other law, no court shall have jurisdiction over any claim based on any action taken by the Attorney General or any re- fusal to take action under this subchapter, ex- cept for failure to provide notification under section 4226 of this title. (Pub. L. 101–647, title XXV, § 2583, Nov. 29, 1990, 104 Stat. 4903.)