CFR

9.1—Authority, purpose, and scope.

(a) Purpose. This part sets forth the procedures for agency officials to follow when considering remission or mitigation of administrative forfeitures under the jurisdiction of the agency, and civil judicial and criminal judicial forfeitures under the jurisdiction of the Criminal Division. The purpose of the regulations in this part is to provide a basis for ameliorating the effects of forfeiture through the partial or total remission of forfeiture for individuals who have an interest in the forfeited property but who did not participate in, or have knowledge of, the conduct that resulted in the property being subject to forfeiture and, where required, took all reasonable steps under the circumstances to ensure that such property would not be used, acquired, or disposed of contrary to law. Additionally, the regulations provide for partial or total mitigation of the forfeiture and imposition of alternative conditions in appropriate circumstances.

(b) Authority to grant remission and mitigation. (1) Remission and mitigation functions in administrative forfeitures are performed by the agency seizing the property. Within the Federal Bureau of Investigation, authority to grant remission and mitigation is delegated to the Forfeiture Counsel, who is the Unit Chief, Legal Forfeiture Unit, Office of the General Counsel; within the Drug Enforcement Administration, authority to grant remission and mitigation is delegated to the Forfeiture Counsel, Office of Chief Counsel; within the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, authority to grant remission and mitigation is delegated to the Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; and within the Immigration and Naturalization Service, authority to grant remission and mitigation is delegated to the INS Regional Directors.

(2) Remission and mitigation functions in judicial cases are performed by the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice. Within the Criminal Division, authority to grant remission and mitigation is delegated to the Chief, Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section, Criminal Division.

(3) The powers and responsibilities delegated by these regulations in this part may be redelegated to attorneys or managers working under the supervision of the designated officials.

(c) The time periods and internal requirements established in this part are designed to guide the orderly administration of the remission and mitigation process and are not intended to create rights or entitlements in favor of individuals seeking remission or mitigation. The regulations will apply to all decisions on petitions for remission or mitigation made on or after February 3, 1997. The regulations will apply to decisions on requests for reconsideration of a denial of a petition under §§ 9.3(j) and 9.4(k) only if the initial decision on the petition was made under the provisions of this part effective on February 3, 1997.

(d) This part governs any petition for remission filed with the Attorney General and supersedes any Department of Justice regulation governing petitions for remission, to the extent such regulation is inconsistent with this part. In particular, this part supersedes the provisions of 21 CFR 1316.79 and 1316.80, which contain remission and mitigation procedures for property seized for narcotics violations. The provisions of 8 CFR 274.13 through 274.19 and 28 CFR 8.10, which concern non-drug related forfeitures, are also superseded by this part where those regulations relate to remission and mitigation.

Code of Federal Regulations

[Order No. 2064-96, 62 FR 316, Jan. 3, 1997, as amended by Order No. 2650-2003, 68 FR 4928, Jan. 31, 2003]

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