On June 4, the Foreign Agents Registration Acts (FARA) Unit of the Department of Justice (DOJ) updated its public list “Letters of Determination” it has issued since 2017. The list was initially published on the DOJ’s website on June 1.

The 15 letters made public were sent by the FARA Unit to potential registrants after evaluations were completed by the unit to determine whether registration was required. The letters, issued between 2017 and 2019, set forth relevant facts, applicable statutory and regulatory provisions, and the unit’s analysis.

While the names of the individuals and foreign principals who are the subject of the letters, and their respective activities being considered by the FARA Unit, are not redacted, the letters do contain some redactions.

According to the FARA Unit, “[The FARA Unit of the DOJ] regularly reviews information to determine whether an entity or individual has an obligation to register under FARA. Where such information suggests that a registration obligation may exist, the FARA Unit sends a letter advising the entity or individual of its potential obligations under FARA, and seeking additional information.”

FARA is a disclosure statute requiring persons acting as agents of foreign principals in a political or quasi-political capacity to make public disclosure of their relationship with and activities for the foreign principal.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced, effective this week, all foreign agents filing with the DOJ under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) must submit their initial registration statements using its new online eFile system.

In the DOJ’s announcement, the agency said the “upgraded filing system allows registrants to submit data through a self-guided, web-based questionnaire, rather than uploading PDFs.”

While the current system will only allow for initial registrations, all other FARA filings will continue to use the existing eFiling system until further notice.

FARA is a disclosure statute requiring persons acting as agents of foreign principals in a political or quasi-political capacity to make public disclosure of their relationship with and activities for the foreign principal.

On June 8, the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) Registration Unit released several years’ worth of advisory opinions previously unavailable to the public.

The advisory opinions, covering the period from January 1, 2010, to the present, had been previously issued to individuals and lobbyists concerning registration and other issues falling under FARA. 49 advisory opinions concerning FARA have been issued by the DOJ since January 1, 2010.

Also included with the release of the advisory opinions are three additional letters sent in response to requests for general information.

Future advisory opinions will be made publicly available and posted on the DOJ’s website periodically.

The advisory opinions can be found here.

On July 31, a bill was introduced in the U.S. Senate to strengthen the federal lobbying laws concerning the representation of foreign interests.

Senate Bill 1679, the Foreign Agent Lobbying Transparency Enforcement Act, introduced by Sens. Tammy Duckworth, Dick Durbin, and Richard Blumenthal, amends the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 (FARA) to increase enforcement of certain violations and strengthen certain transparency requirements. Specifically, the bill would authorize the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to levy civil fines to punish offenders who fail to properly label FARA filings, file late, do not file at all, or fail to register. The legislation also clarifies what required statements must be filed with the DOJ and mandates registrants file certain informational materials currently excluded from reporting.

The bill has been referred to the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.