Economic sanctions enforcement is a fast-rising risk for global companies. For many years, the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Asset Control (“OFAC”) focused primarily on financial institutions. Over the last ten...more
Facing the myriad third-party sanctions risks can be daunting. Many global organizations rely on a network of third-party intermediaries that pose a variety of risks. To mitigate those risks, companies have to implement...more
The task of designing appropriate third-party sanctions controls requires reverse engineering of relevant caselaw, particularly, the Epsilon Electronics case, which I reviewed in Part I of this series, and the Department of...more
If there is one issue that is repeated over and over (and over), it is third-party risks. Over the last ten years, we have witnessed an explosion in anti-corruption enforcement around the world. And with this enforcement...more
OFAC is off to a quick start in 2022. After announcing its Airbnb enforcement action in the beginning of January, OFAC announced a settlement with Sojitz (Hong Kong) Limited, a Hong Kong, China-based company that engages in...more
1/21/2022
/ Compliance ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Failure to Comply ,
Financial Transactions ,
Foreign Policy ,
Foreign Relations ,
Goods or Services ,
Hong Kong ,
Internal Controls ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Risk-Based Approaches ,
Sanction Violations
The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Asset Control started off the new year with an interesting enforcement action against Airbnb Payments, Inc. (“Airbnb”), a money service business subsidiary of Airbnb, Inc. Airbnb...more
The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Asset Control (“OFAC”) has been a steady performer in this challenging pandemic environment. Since the pandemic, OFAC has maintained a strong profile, while managing a difficult...more
The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Asset Control had another consistent year – not a big year but continued adherence to its enforcement program.
At the end of the year, OFAC announced a settlement with TD Bank...more
The United States Department of Commerce and Department of Treasury continue to ramp up sanctions against Chinese entities as part of the ongoing tension between China and the United States. ...more
1/7/2022
/ Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
China ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Entity List ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
SDN List ,
Supply Chain ,
Trade Relations ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
U.S. Treasury ,
US Trade Policies
In May 2019, OFAC released its Framework for a Sanctions Compliance Program. OFAC announced that it intended to increase the prosecution of individuals for sanctions violations. OFAC has brought two cases against...more
In an interesting announcement, the US, EU, UK and Canada implemented additional sanctions against Belarus. The coordinated announcement reflected the Biden Administration’s diplomatic commitment to joint sanctions actions. ...more
12/21/2021
/ Asset Freeze ,
Canada ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
Foreign Policy ,
Foreign Relations ,
Goods or Services ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
SDN List ,
Switzerland
On November 12, 2021, the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”), pursuant to Executive Order 14046, Imposing Sanctions on Certain Persons With Respect to the Humanitarian and Human Rights...more
12/3/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Corruption ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Ethiopia ,
Exports ,
Foreign Policy ,
Foreign Relations ,
General Licenses ,
Goods or Services ,
Human Rights ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular
Mashreqbank, based in Dubai, agreed to pay $100 million to the New York Department of Financial Services, the Federal Reserve, and the Office of Foreign Asset Control for violation of the now-repealed Sudan Sanctions...more
11/23/2021
/ Cease and Desist Orders ,
Compliance ,
Consent Order ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Financial Transactions ,
NYDFS ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Sanction Violations ,
Sudan ,
White Collar Crimes
We have all read about the high-profile malicious cyber-attacks and ransomware demands and payments. The Colonial Pipeline case demonstrated how responsive law enforcement can be in tracking down perpetrators and recovering...more
11/4/2021
/ Crypto Exchanges ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Cybersecurity ,
Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) ,
Data Breach ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Hackers ,
Homeland Security Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) ,
NIST ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
Ransomware ,
SDN List ,
Virtual Currency
We have heard it over and over, again and again – third-parties pose significant risks of bribery for all global businesses. Almost every FCPA enforcement action includes some form of third-party misconduct. The current...more
This has been an interesting enforcement year. The Biden Administration promised a renewal of aggressive enforcement. The difficult transition from the last administration and political resistance to confirmation of...more
In the second OFAC enforcement action released on the same day, September 27, 2021, Schlumberger Rod Lift, Inc. (“SRL”) (now d/b/a Lufkin Rod Lift, Inc.), and formerly a subsidiary of Schlumberger Lift Solutions LLC (“SLS”),...more
In a pair of enforcement actions, OFAC settled two separate actions involving Schlumberger Limited subsidiaries – the first involving Cameron International Corporation, and the second, Schlumberger Rod Lift, Inc., a former...more
10/1/2021
/ Arctic Drilling ,
Corruption ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Goods or Services ,
Infrastructure ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Offshore Drilling ,
Oil & Gas ,
Russia ,
Sanction Violations ,
Suppliers ,
Supply Contracts ,
Ukraine
The Treasury Department’s Offices of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) continues its enforcement run in 2021, and added yet another tech company to its list of targets....more
9/20/2021
/ Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Policy ,
Goods or Services ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
SDN List ,
White Collar Crimes
The First Bank of Romania and JC Flowers agreed to pay OFAC $862,318 to settle violations of Iran and Syria Sanctions Programs. First Bank is owned by its U.S. parent, JC Flowers & Company. ...more
The United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Canada and Switzerland have adopted or expanded sanctions against Belarus, and the Alexander Lukashenko regime. ...more
The UK-based Bank of China agreed to pay $2.3 million to settle violations of OFAC’s Sudan Sanctions Program. OFAC repealed the Sudan sanctions in October 2017 but is continuing to investigate violations of the Sudan...more
Well, we are still waiting for the “big” FCPA enforcement actions. Do not get me wrong – they are coming. My suspicion is that they are being held up and calculated with a splash to announce the results of the White House’s...more
There are lots of life lessons to apply from Greek Mythology. The classic character Sisyphus, who was punished by Zeus for his trickery and condemned for eternity to push a large boulder up a hill, reminds us of the...more
In two separate enforcement actions, OFAC announced settlements with Alfa Laval Middle East Ltd., a Dubai, UAE company (AL Middle East), and Alfa Laval, Inc., a Virginia-based company (AL US) for violations of OFAC’s Iran...more