Title 12Banks and BankingRelease 119-73

§4225 Rights of declarants; participation in actions, awards

Title 12 › Chapter CHAPTER 43— - ACTIONS AGAINST PERSONS COMMITTING BANK FRAUD CRIMES › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER II— - DECLARATIONS PROVIDING UNITED STATES WITH NEW INFORMATION CONCERNING RECOVERY OF ASSETS › § 4225

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

People who filed a valid declaration under the law’s rules (sections 4221–4224) get certain rights. If the Attorney General sends the case to private lawyers under subchapter III, the filer, after talking with the Attorney General, can pick the lawyer to bring the case and must follow the subchapter III rules. If the United States recovers assets named in the declaration and the Attorney General decides the recovery would not have happened without the declaration, the filer can get a share: 20%–30% of the first $1,000,000 recovered, 10%–20% of the next $4,000,000, and 5%–10% of the next $5,000,000. A person cannot get this award and a reward under 12 U.S.C. 1831k or 18 U.S.C. 3509A for the same or very similar information; if eligible for both, they may tell the Attorney General in writing which one they choose. Funds or assets do not include those acquired by federal banking agencies or the Resolution Trust Corporation, except civil money penalties recovered by a federal banking agency by final judgment, order, or settlement.

Full Legal Text

Title 12, §4225

Banks and Banking — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)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)If the Attorney General determines that a proceeding to recover the asset or assets identified in the declaration should be referred to private counsel pursuant to subchapter III, the declarant, after consultation with the Attorney General, 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)When the United States recovers any asset or assets specifically identified in a valid declaration filed under section 4221 of this title and the Attorney General determines that the asset or assets would not have been recovered if the declaration 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 recovery 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 recovered.
(d)(1)No person shall receive both an award under this section and a reward under either section 1831k of this title or section 3509A 11 See References in Text note below. of title 18 for providing the same or substantially similar information.
(2)When a person qualifies for both an award under this section and a reward under either section 1831k of this title or section 3509A 1 of title 18 for providing the same or substantially similar information, the person may notify the Attorney General in writing of the person’s election to seek an award under this section or a reward under such other section.
(e)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 penalties recovered by a Federal banking agency through a final judgement, order, or settlement.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

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.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

12 U.S.C. § 4225

Title 12Banks and Banking

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73