Forfeiture of Terrorist Assets Under the USA Patriot Act of 2001 by Stefan D. Cassella, Deputy Chief, Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section, US Department of Justice. "The language is extraordinarily broad. Unlike the money laundering statute, which authorizes the forfeiture only of property "involved" in the money laundering offense, or the drug statute, which authorizes forfeiture only of property derived from or used to commit the drug offense, Section 981(a)(I)(G) does not require any nexus between the property and any terrorism offense. To the contrary, once the Government establishes that a person, entity, or organization is engaged in terrorism against the United States, its citizens or residents, or their property, the Government can seize and ultimately mandate forfeiture all assets, foreign or domestic, of the terrorist entity, whether those assets are connected to terrorism or not." ... "Under Section 316 of the Patriot Act, if the case goes to trial under Section 981(a)(1)(G), and the property involves the assets of "suspected international terrorists," the normal burden of proof is reversed: once the Government makes its initial showing of probable cause, the claimant has the burden of proving, by a preponderance of the evidence, that his property is not subject to confiscation. ... Moreover, in the forfeiture trial, hearsay is admissible..."