On September 22, 2023, the U.S. Department of Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) issued its “Reminder to file your 2023 annual report of Blocked Property,” noting that entities or persons subject to the...more
The United States is determined to ensure that no one profits off of Russia’s war against Ukraine. To that end, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) has widened the scope of its...more
The Justice Department has touted the upcoming wave of corporate prosecutions for criminal sanctions violation as the era of “The New FCPA.” DOJ’s reference is intended to communicate a strong message – companies are going to...more
9/12/2023
/ Compliance ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Foreign Policy ,
Foreign Relations ,
Foreign Subsidiaries ,
Goods or Services ,
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Sanction Violations
Construction Specialties, Inc. (“CSI”), a U.S. company specializing in the sale of building materials, agreed to pay $660,594 to settle its liability for three violations of OFAC’s sanctions on Iran. CSI’s illegal conduct...more
8/24/2023
/ Compliance ,
Construction Industry ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Policy ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Multinationals ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
Sanction Violations ,
White Collar Crimes
In another significant step notifying global businesses of the new realities – companies are about to face aggressive coordinated criminal and civil prosecutions for sanctions and export control violations. The last piece in...more
8/11/2023
/ Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Compliance ,
Compliance Management Systems ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Foreign Policy ,
Foreign Relations ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Sanction Violations ,
Voluntary Disclosure ,
White Collar Crimes
OFAC continues its enforcement push. At the same time, OFAC is managing a complex, global set of sanctions against Russia. DOJ has promised to increase prosecution of global banks for sanctions violations....more
6/21/2023
/ Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Crimea ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Financial Transactions ,
Know Your Customers ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Russia ,
Sanction Violations ,
White Collar Crimes
In a relatively rare move for four (4) Cabinet-level Departments, the U.S. Departments of Commerce, Justice, State and Treasury issued an advisory notice on June 9, 2023, aimed specifically at reminding industry of their...more
6/15/2023
/ Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Drones ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Foreign Policy ,
Foreign Relations ,
Goods or Services ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Unmanned Aircraft Systems ,
US Department of State
In today’s world of cyber threats, many companies have fallen victim to ransomware attacks. Corporate boards and senior executives face serious issues when their companies are attacked. The payment of ransom is not only...more
6/1/2023
/ Compliance ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Hackers ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
Ransomware ,
Risk Management ,
Russia
Over an eight-year period ending in 2018, Murad, a U.S. cosmetics company, illegally exported goods and services to Iran in 62 separate transactions worth approximately $11 million. Murad was acquired by Unilever United...more
5/31/2023
/ Cosmetics ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Exports ,
Foreign Policy ,
Foreign Relations ,
Goods or Services ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Sanction Violations ,
Unilever ,
United Arab Emirates (UAE)
We are living in a rapidly changing economic landscape. Companies are under the gun to navigate “traditional issues,” such as challenging economic conditions ranging from inflation, and a predicted recession, to supply chain...more
The cryptocurrency industry has a target on its back – and perhaps justifiably so. The SEC, CFTC and OFAC have been bringing a number of regulatory enforcement actions, including against Bittrex, Inc. ($24,280,829.20 in...more
The Justice Department warned companies that sanctions enforcement is the “new FCPA.” DOJ just delivered its first salvo to back up its message....more
5/2/2023
/ Criminal Prosecution ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Relations ,
Foreign Trade Regulations ,
North Korea ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Sanction Violations ,
Settlement Agreements
The Supreme Court rejected a challenge by Halkbank, a Turkish state-owned bank, to its criminal prosecution for anti-money laundering violations and evasion of Iran Sanctions. In a 7-2 decision, authored by Justice...more
Uphold is a California-based money service business. Uphold agreed to pay OFAC $72,230 to resolve multiple sanctions program violations....more
4/13/2023
/ Compliance ,
Cuba ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Institutions ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Sanction Violations ,
Screening Procedures ,
Venezuela
Microsoft’s remedial steps provide important best-practices for companies facing similar risk factors in the global economy, especially for global software companies that rely on Internet-based operations....more
4/12/2023
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Best Practices ,
Blocked Person ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Corruption ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Microsoft ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Sanction Violations ,
SDN List ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Software ,
US Trade Policies
OFAC announced only one settlement in the first three months of 2023. Given its ongoing role in the implementation and enforcement of Russia Sanctions, OFAC’s enforcement record so far is completely understandable. The...more
4/11/2023
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Corruption ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Fines ,
Microsoft ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Sanction Violations ,
SDN List ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Software
Not that I am a glutton for punishment, but I always find enforcement actions to supply a number of valuable lessons learned. There are always instructive nuggets of information, opportunities missed, and root causes that...more
4/5/2023
/ Banks ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Culture ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Ethics ,
Financial Transactions ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
Sanction Violations ,
Wachovia ,
Wells Fargo
OFAC had a quiet start to the year – no enforcement actions but plenty of new and revised sanctions against Russia. OFAC started off March 2023 with a new enforcement action against Godfrey Phillips India, a tobacco...more
As we have noted on numerous occasions, the U.S. Russia Sanctions and Export Control Program is unprecedented and a compliance challenge for all organizations. In another unprecedented action, the Justice Department and the...more
3/14/2023
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Compliance ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Export Controls ,
Goods or Services ,
Military Conflict ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Russia ,
Sanction Violations ,
SDN List ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Ukraine
The Justice Department continues to push on white collar corporate enforcement, and the intersection of national security sanctions and export controls with corporate criminal enforcement. Last week, Lisa Monaco, DOJ’s...more
3/10/2023
/ Administrative Appointments ,
Anti-Corruption ,
BSA/AML ,
Compliance ,
Compliance Management Systems ,
Corporate Culture ,
Corporate Governance ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Ethics ,
Export Controls ,
Money Laundering ,
White Collar Crimes
On February 24, 2023—the first anniversary of the Russian Federation’s Ukraine incursion—the United States Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) and the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of...more
3/2/2023
/ Blocked Person ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Financial Institutions ,
Foreign Trade Regulations ,
General Licenses ,
Metals ,
Military Conflict ,
Mining ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Russia ,
SDN List ,
Ukraine
I am sticking with my 2023 prediction – DOJ is committed to aggressive enforcement of the Russia sanctions. Most of its efforts to date have been directed against Russian Oligarchs and significant evaders who are moving...more
3/1/2023
/ Civil Forfeiture ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Policy ,
Indictments ,
Military Conflict ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Russia ,
Sanction Violations ,
SDN List ,
Ukraine ,
White Collar Crimes
The SEC knows that it has powerful enforcement tools. The FCPA imposes two important requirements on issuers – keep accurate books and records and maintain internal controls to ensure that management’s accounting controls...more
DOJ is poised for a big year in the enforcement of Russian Sanctions and seizure of assets connected to Russian Oligarchs. It has been nearly a year since the U.S., its allies and partners have unleashed robust sanctions...more
In an ironic twist (or you just can’t make this up moment, whichever you prefer), the Justice Department announced the arrest of Charles McGonigal, the former Special Agent in Charge (“SAC”) of the FBI’s Counterintelligence...more
2/1/2023
/ Biden Administration ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Falsified Documents ,
FBI ,
Foreign Policy ,
Indictments ,
Money Laundering ,
Russia ,
SDN List ,
Ukraine ,
White Collar Crimes