[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 28, Volume 1]
[Revised as of July 1, 2008]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 28CFR9.5]

[Page 232-233]
 
                    TITLE 28--JUDICIAL ADMINISTRATION
 
                    CHAPTER I--DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
 
PART 9_REGULATIONS GOVERNING THE REMISSION OR MITIGATION OF CIVIL AND CRIMINAL 
 
Sec. 9.5  Criteria governing administrative and judicial remission and 

mitigation.

    (a) Remission. (1) The Ruling Official shall not grant remission of 
a forfeiture unless the petitioner establishes that:
    (i) The petitioner has a valid, good faith, and legally cognizable 
interest in the seized property as owner or lienholder as defined in 
this part; and
    (ii) The petitioner is innocent within the meaning of the innocent 
owner provisions of the applicable civil forfeiture statute, is a bona 
fide purchaser for value without cause to believe that the property was 
subject to forfeiture at the time of the purchase, or is one who held a 
legally cognizable interest in the seized property at the time of the 
violation underlying the forfeiture superior to that of the defendant 
within the meaning of the applicable criminal forfeiture statute, and is 
thereby entitled to recover his or her interest in the forfeited 
property by statute. (If the applicable civil forfeiture statute 
contains no innocent owner defense, the innocent owner provisions 
applicable to 21 U.S.C. 881(a)(4) shall apply.) Unless otherwise 
provided by statute, in the case of petitioners who acquired their 
interest in the property after the time of the violation underlying the 
forfeiture, the question of whether the petitioner had knowledge of the 
violation shall be determined as of the point in time when the interest 
in the property was acquired.
    (2) The knowledge and responsibilities of petitioner's 
representative, agent, or employee in paragraph (a)(1)(ii) of this 
section are imputed to the petitioner where the representative, agent, 
or employee was acting in the course of his or her employment and in 
furtherance of the petitioner's business.
    (3) The petitioner has the burden of establishing the basis for 
granting a petition for remission or mitigation of forfeited property, a 
restoration of proceeds of sale or appraised value of forfeited 
property, or a reconsideration of a denial of such a petition. Failure 
to provide information or documents and to submit to interviews, as 
requested, may result in a denial of the petition.

[[Page 233]]

    (4) The Ruling Official shall presume a valid forfeiture and shall 
not consider whether the evidence is sufficient to support the 
forfeiture.
    (5) Willful, materially-false statements or information, made or 
furnished by the petitioner in support of a petition for remission or 
mitigation of forfeited property, the restoration of proceeds or 
appraised value of forfeited property, or the reconsideration of a 
denial of any such petition, shall be grounds for denial of such 
petition and possible prosecution for the filing of false statements.
    (b) Mitigation. (1) The Ruling Official may grant mitigation to a 
party not involved in the commission of the offense underlying 
forfeiture:
    (i) Where the petitioner has not met the minimum conditions for 
remission, but the Ruling Official finds that some relief should be 
granted to avoid extreme hardship, and that return of the property 
combined with imposition of monetary and/or other conditions of 
mitigation in lieu of a complete forfeiture will promote the interest of 
justice and will not diminish the deterrent effect of the law. 
Extenuating circumstances justifying such a finding include those 
circumstances that reduce the responsibility of the petitioner for 
knowledge of the illegal activity, knowledge of the criminal record of a 
user of the property, or failure to take reasonable steps to prevent the 
illegal use or acquisition by another for some reason, such as a 
reasonable fear of reprisal; or
    (ii) Where the minimum standards for remission have been satisfied 
but the overall circumstances are such that, in the opinion of the 
Ruling Official, complete relief is not warranted.
    (2) The Ruling Officials may in his or her discretion grant 
mitigation to a party involved in the commission of the offense 
underlying the forfeiture where certain mitigating factors exist, 
including, but not limited to: the lack of a prior record or evidence of 
similar criminal conduct; if the violation does not include drug 
distribution, manufacturing, or importation, the fact that the violator 
has taken steps, such as drug treatment, to prevent further criminal 
conduct; the fact that the violation was minimal and was not part of a 
larger criminal scheme; the fact that the violator has cooperated with 
federal, state, or local investigations relating to the criminal conduct 
underlying the forfeiture; or the fact that complete forfeiture of an 
asset is not necessary to achieve the legitimate purposes of forfeiture.
    (3) Mitigation may take the form of a monetary condition or the 
imposition of other conditions relating to the continued use of the 
property, and the return of the property, in addition to the imposition 
of any other costs that would be chargeable as a condition to remission. 
This monetary condition is considered as an item of cost payable by the 
petitioner, and shall be deposited into the Assets Forfeiture Fund as an 
amount realized from forfeiture in accordance with the applicable 
statute. If the petitioner fails to accept the Ruling Official's 
mitigation decision or any of its conditions, or fails to pay the 
monetary amount within twenty (20) days of the receipt of the decision, 
the property shall be sold, and the monetary amount imposed and other 
costs chargeable as a condition to mitigation shall be subtracted from 
the proceeds of the sale before transmitting the remainder to the 
petitioner.