Title 18Crimes and Criminal ProcedureRelease 119-73

§443 War contracts

Title 18 › Part PART I— - CRIMES › Chapter CHAPTER 23— - CONTRACTS › § 443

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

Makes it illegal for anyone to deliberately hide, damage, erase, or destroy records connected to a war contract worth $25,000 or more, or records about selling off termination inventory when the payment involved is $5,000 or more.

Full Legal Text

Title 18, §443

Crimes and Criminal Procedure — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

Whoever willfully secretes, mutilates, obliterates, or destroys—
(a)any records of a war contractor relating to the negotiation, award, performance, payment, interim financing, cancellation or other termination, or settlement of a war contract of $25,000 or more; or
(b)any records of a war contractor or purchaser relating to any disposition of termination inventory in which the consideration received by any war contractor or any government agency is $5,000 or more,

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Based on section 119, first and second paragraphs, of title 41 U.S.C., 1940 ed., Public Contracts (July 1, 1944, ch. 358, § 19(a), 58 Stat. 667). Section was rewritten with changes of phraseology to conform to the style adopted in the revision. The definition of “records” was omitted as surplusage in order to avoid any inference that “records” as used in other sections was intended to have a different or more limited connotation than the broad and commonly understood meaning popularly assigned to the term. The last paragraph was added to obviate any possibility of doubt as to meaning of terms defined in section 103 of Title 41, Public Contracts. Reference to persons causing or procuring was omitted as unnecessary in view of definition of “principal” in section 2 of this title.

Editorial Notes

References in Text

Section 103 of Title 41, referred to in text, probably means section 3 of act July 1, 1944, ch. 358, 58 Stat. 650, which was classified to section 103 of former Title 41, Public Contracts, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 111–350, § 7(b), Jan. 4, 2011, 124 Stat. 3855. For disposition of sections of former Title 41, see Disposition Table preceding section 101 of Title 41.

Amendments

1994—Pub. L. 103–322, in concluding provisions of first par., struck out “or (3) five years after 12 o’clock noon of
December 31, 1946,” after “of such war contract,” and substituted “shall be fined under this title” for “shall, if a corporation, be fined not more than $50,000, and, if a natural person, be fined not more than $10,000”. 1951—Act Oct. 31, 1951, substituted “12 o’clock noon of
December 31, 1946” for “the termination of hostilities in the present war as proclaimed by the President or by a concurrent resolution of the two Houses of Congress”, and, in penultimate paragraph, substituted “Administrator of General Services” for “Director of Contract Settlement”.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

18 U.S.C. § 443

Title 18Crimes and Criminal Procedure

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73