Title 25
SECTION 140.5
140.5 Bureau of Indian Affairs employees not to contract or trade with Indians except in certain cases.
§ 140.5 Bureau of Indian Affairs employees not to contract or trade with Indians except in certain cases.(a) Definitions of terms as used in this part:
(1) Indian means any member of an Indian tribe recognized as eligible for the services provided by the Bureau of Indian Affairs who is residing on a Federal Indian Reservation, on land held in trust by the United States for Indians, or on land subject to a restriction against alienation imposed by the United States. The term shall also include any such tribe and any Indian owned or controlled organization located on such a reservation or land.
(2) Bureau or the “Bureau of Indian Affairs” means the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs, both in the Department of the Interior.
(3) Employee means an officer, employee, or agent of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
(4) Secretary means the Secretary of the Interior.
(5) Contract means any agreement made or under negotiation with any Indian for the purchase, transportation or delivery of goods or supplies.
(6) Trading means buying, selling, bartering, renting, leasing, permitting and any other transaction involving the acquisition of property or services.
(7) Commercial trading means any trading transaction where an employee engages in the business of buying or selling services or items which he/she is trading.
(b) With the exceptions provided in subsection (b) of section 437 of title 18 U.S. Code, section 437 provides that whoever, being an officer, employee, or agent of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, has (other than as a lawful representative of the United States) any interest, in such officer, employee, or agent's name, or in the name of another person where such officer, employee, or agent benefits or appears to benefit from such interest:
(1) In any contract made or under negotiation with any Indian, for the purchase, transportation or delivery of goods or supplies for any Indian, or
(2) In any purchase or sale of any service or real or personal property (or any interest therein) from or to any Indian, or colludes with any person attempting to obtain any such contract, purchase, or sale, shall be fined not more than $5,000 or imprisoned not more than six months or both, and shall be removed from office, notwithstanding any other provision of law concerning termination from Federal employment.
(c) The further subsections of this section authorize certain employees contracting and trading with Indians as authorized by the exceptions in section 437 of title 18 U.S. Code. All such contracting and trading is subject to the express provision of section 437 that none of the sales or purchases so authorized may be made if the purpose of any such sale, trade, or purchase is that of commercially selling, reselling, trading, or bartering such property.
(d)(1) Under authority granted by section 437(b)(1) of title 18 U.S. Code, employees of the Bureau of Indian Affairs may with the approval of an authorized officer of the Bureau, as designated in paragraph (d)(2) of this section, purchase from or sell to an Indian any service or any real or personal property, not held in trust by the United States or subject to a restriction against alienation imposed by the United States, or any interest in such property. In addition, employees may purchase from Indians without approval from an authorized officer of the Bureau any non-trust or unrestricted personal property for home use or consumption the value of which property does not exceed $1000. Where the purchase or sale price is less than $1,000, employees may also purchase motor vehicles for their personal use from Indians or sell their personal motor vehicles to Indians without obtaining approval of such purchases or sales from an authorized officer of the Bureau. Approval must be obtained if the purchase or sale price is $1,000 or more.
(2) As used in paragraph (d)(1) of this section an authorized officer of the Bureau of Indian Affairs for employees on reservations and in agencies or in field service units shall be the superintendent or other officer in charge of the unit in which the employee is employed. The authorized officer for the superintendent or officer in charge is his or her immediate supervisor. The authorized officer for employees in area offices is the Area Director, and the authorized officer for an Area Director is his or her immediate supervisor. The authorized officer for employees in the Central Office is the Deputy Assistant Secretary - Indian Affairs (Operations).
(e) No employee of the Bureau of Indian Affairs may have any interest in any purchase or sale involving property or funds which are either held in trust by the United States for Indians or which are purchased, sold, utilized, or received in connection with a contract or grant to an Indian from the Bureau if such employee is employed in the office or installation of the Bureau which recommends, approves, executes, or administers such transaction, grant, or contract on behalf of the United States, except that, as authorized by section 437(b)(1) of title 18 U.S. Code an employee of the Bureau may have such an interest if such purchase or sale is approved by an authorized officer of the Bureau, as designated in paragraphs (e) (3) to (5) of this section, and the conditions in (e) (1) and (2) of this section are satisfied to the extent to which they are applicable to the transaction concerned:
(1) The conveyance or granting of any interest in property held in trust or subject to restriction against alienation imposed by the United States is otherwise authorized by law.
(2) Trading by employees with Indians which involves property or funds which are either held in trust by the United States or are subject to restrictions against alienation imposed by the United States must be conducted on the basis of sealed bid or public auction. If the trading involves leases or sales of trust or restricted Indian land it must be conducted on the basis of sealed bids. Such requirements for sealed bid or public auction may only be waived by the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs on the basis of a full report showing:
(i) The need for the transaction,
(ii) The benefits accruing to both parties,
(iii) That the consideration for the proposed transaction shall be not less than the fair market value of the trust or restricted property or interest therein, unless the employee is involved in a transaction in accordance with § 152.25(c) or (d) or § 162.5(b)(1), (2), or (3) of this title or the employee is the recipient of a benefit for tribal members for which a uniform charge to all members is made, and
(iv) An affidavit as follows shall accompany each proposed transaction: “I (name) (title), swear (or affirm) that I have not exercised any undue influence nor used any special knowledge received by reason of my employment in the Bureau in obtaining the (grantor's, purchaser's, vendor's) consent to the instant transaction.”
(3) The authorized officer of the Bureau for employees employed on reservations, in agencies or service units is one who is not a relative by blood or marriage of the employee, and is not employed at the employee's reservation, agency or service unit. That officer must also be employed at not less than one grade level higher than such employee at the Washington, District of Columbia, Central Office or at an Area Office other than that with authority over the employee's reservation, agency, or service unit.
(4) The authorized officer of the Bureau for employees employed in Area offices is one who is not a relative by blood or marriage of the employee, is not employed at the employee's area office, and must be employed at not less than one grade level higher than the employee at the Washington, District of Columbia, Central Office.
(5) The authorized officer of the Bureau for employees employed at the Washington, District of Columbia, Central Office is the Secretary.
(f) Except as provided in subsection (b)(2) of section 437 of title 18 U.S. Code as implemented by this section, nothing in the cited law shall be construed as preventing any employee of the Bureau who is an Indian, of whatever degree of Indian blood, from obtaining or receiving any benefit or benefits made available to Indians generally or to any member of his or her particular tribe, under any Act of Congress, nor to prevent any such employee who is an Indian from being a member of or receiving benefits by reason of his or her membership in any Indian tribe, corporation, or cooperative association organized by Indians, when authorized under such rules and regulations as the Secretary or his/her designee has prescribed or shall prescribe.
[49 FR 25434, June 21, 1984]