In a testimony before the US Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, Adams listed a number of proposals that are supposed to simplify legal statutes governing the use of forfeited funds.
Adams proposed improving the US government's ability to use forfeited funds to offset the harms caused to Ukraine by Russia by permitting the departments of Justice, Treasury and State to work "together to return funds forfeited to the US government to remediate harms of Russian aggression toward Ukraine."
In addition, Adams said he seeks to crack down on those individuals or entities who evade sanctions imposed on Russia and proposed modernizing the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act by adding criminal violations of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and the Export Control Reform Act to the definition of "racketeering activity."
Adams also suggested expanding forfeiture authorities under IEEPA to reach property used to facilitate sanctions violations enabling the US government to take away the violators’ "tools of the trade." This amendment will allow US authorities to forfeit assets that are used to "mask sanctions evasion, without themselves being the proceeds of that evasion," according to the testimony.
In March, the Justice Department launched the KleptoCapture Task Force to trace and seize assets of Russian businessman in response to Moscow's special military operation in Ukraine.
On February 24, Russia launched the special military operation after the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk requested help in defending themselves from intensifying attacks by Ukrainian troops. Russia has said that the aim of the special operation is to demilitarize and de-Nazify Ukraine and that it is targeting the country's military infrastructure only.