The United States has taken a historic step by terminating the Syria Sanctions Program, marking the most significant shift in U.S. foreign policy towards Syria since the fall of the Assad regime. In our earlier post, we...more
7/22/2025
/ Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
Executive Orders ,
Export Controls ,
Foreign Policy ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Sanctions ,
SDN List ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Treasury ,
UK
In a significant shift in international policy, the United States, European Union, and United Kingdom have each taken steps to ease sanctions on Syria, aiming to support the country’s reconstruction and political transition...more
Pull quote: “Every export—every single one—has a related financial transaction”
You are a banker. You do bankery things. You look at the ledgers, you tot up the numbers, you manage the accounts. Maybe you make loans,...more
On June 12, 2024, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced new measures targeting Russia’s financial infrastructure, including:
1. Expanding the scope of financial sanctions:...more
In a bold move to tighten its sanctions enforcement, the EU rolled out Directive 2024/1226, establishing minimum rules for defining criminal offenses and penalties related to the violation of EU sanctions. Effective May 19,...more
On November 21, 2023, the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced its largest settlement in history with the virtual currency exchange Binance. This almost-billion dollar settlement is a part of a larger...more
11/27/2023
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
CFTC ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Compliance ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
FinCEN ,
Money Laundering ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Sanction Violations ,
Settlement ,
Virtual Currency
On June 23, 2023, the EU released its 11th package of sanctions on Russia. This package is designed to improve enforcement with new anti-circumvention rules, new trade restrictions, and new designations. The...more
6/26/2023
/ Asset Freeze ,
Crude Oil ,
Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
Export Controls ,
Imports ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Oil & Gas ,
Russia ,
SDN List ,
Supply Chain ,
UK ,
Ukraine
The United States and its allies are aiming to choke off the supplies that support the last vestiges of Russian industry. On May 19, 2023, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) released new regulations implementing...more
In response to Russia’s ongoing aggression in Ukraine, both the United States and the European Union have imposed additional sanctions and further restricted exports to Russia and Iran. These new controls span many...more
2/28/2023
/ Economic Sanctions ,
Entity List ,
EU ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Russia ,
SDN List ,
Trade Restrictions ,
UK ,
Ukraine
On October 21, 2022, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) officially moved Myanmar onto the agency’s blacklist, where it joins Iran and North Korea, the only other two listed countries. It is likely that the United States...more
On September 30, 2022, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) published compliance guidance for instant payment systems. The guide highlights the need for emerging payment technology companies to assess their sanctions...more
After Mahsa Amini was killed in the custody of “Gasht-e-Ershad” or Iran’s Guidance Patrol, commonly referred to as Iran’s morality police, following an arrest for placement of her hijab, protests have erupted throughout Iran...more
On April 29, 2022, the UK introduced new measures to prevent the provision of internet services to or for the benefit of designated persons. These measures apply to the whole territory of the UK and to conduct by UK persons...more
On May 6, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated a cryptocurrency mixer, Blender.io, as a Specially Designated National (SDN). That sanction follows a series of enforcements and...more
The United States is engaging in a new form of warfare. Russia invaded Ukraine just over two months ago and, rather than join the fight directly by sending troops to defend Ukraine, the United States is fighting indirectly by...more
4/29/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Embargo ,
Executive Orders ,
Export Controls ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Procurement Systems ,
Russia ,
State Action Doctrine ,
Supply Chain ,
Ukraine
Last week, the United States government imposed additional restrictions on the imports from, and exports to, Russia. The import changes stem from the Suspending Normal Trade Relations with Russia and Belarus Act, signed into...more
4/14/2022
/ Belarus ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Imports ,
Russia ,
Supply Chain ,
Trade Relations ,
Trade Restrictions ,
Ukraine
Updated as of April 12, 2022 -
It has now been more than 40 days since the start of Putin’s brutal invasion of Ukraine. Today, following the recent revelations of the atrocities committed in Bucha, Ukraine by Russian armed...more
4/13/2022
/ Asset Freeze ,
Belarus Sanctions ,
Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
Export Controls ,
Financial Transactions ,
G7 ,
General Licenses ,
Investment ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Russia ,
SDN List ,
Trading Restrictions ,
UK ,
Ukraine
It has now been more than 40 days since the start of Putin’s brutal invasion of Ukraine. Today, following the recent revelations of the atrocities committed in Bucha, Ukraine by Russian armed forces, the United States – in...more
The recent comprehensive economic sanctions by the U.S. and other nations against Russia has propelled the crypto community onto the geo-political stage in a major way. As with other forms of payment and methods of money...more
Updated as of February 25, 2022 -
Key Takeaways of OFAC (Treasury) and BIS (Commerce) Actions -
Major Russian Banks Blocked from the U.S. Financial System. Six major Russian banks — VEB, Promsvyazbank (PSB), VTB Bank,...more
Updated as of February 25, 2022 -
Key Takeaways of EU and UK Recent Actions Against Russia and Ukraine Breakaway Regions -
The EU adopted the first tranche of sanctions restrictions targeting financial institutions, other...more
With Russian forces massing at the Ukrainian border, the U.S. and EU have been warning of severe economic sanctions. While we wait and watch this brinksmanship play out, it is worth considering how businesses, and...more
12/16/2021
/ Banks ,
Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
Financial Institutions ,
Joe Biden ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Russia ,
Sanctions ,
SWIFT ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Vladimir Putin
This is the first of three articles on the Solar Industry and Forced Labor. Here we focus on regulation. Articles in the coming weeks will focus on issues facing importers and their suppliers, and on investors and their...more
7/26/2021
/ Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
China ,
Clean Energy ,
Customs ,
Customs and Border Protection ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement ,
Forced Labor ,
Solar Energy ,
Supply Chain ,
Supply Contracts ,
Withhold Release Orders (WROs)
Over the past few weeks, we have been speculating on the international trends and tides we expect to see in the next four years under a new U.S. presidential administration. So that you can enjoy our prognostications (before...more
12/17/2020
/ Asia ,
Biden Administration ,
CFIUS ,
China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Customs and Border Protection ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Foreign Policy ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) ,
National Security ,
Recovery Plans ,
Russia ,
Trump Administration ,
UK
On May 8, 2018, the United States withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action and reimposed all pre-JCPOA sanctions against Iran... After a prescribed wind-down period, all U.S. sanctions on Iran are now in force....more
11/6/2018
/ Economic Sanctions ,
Foreign Financial Institutions (FFI) ,
Foreign Policy ,
Foreign Relations ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
SDN List ,
Trump Administration ,
Waivers