In a June 4 announcement, the Trump administration further ratcheted up U.S. sanctions and export controls against Cuba by prohibiting group “people-to-people” travel to Cuba and the use of noncommercial aircraft and...more
6/6/2019
/ Aircraft ,
Airline Passengers ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Cuba ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ,
Foreign Relations ,
National Security ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Sanctions ,
Trump Administration ,
Vessels
• The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Controls (OFAC) recently published guidance that describes the framework for an effective Sanctions Compliance Program (SCP). In its guidance, OFAC makes clear...more
5/30/2019
/ Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Compliance ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Internal Controls ,
New Guidance ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Sanctions ,
Senior Managers ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Voluntary Disclosure
• Yesterday, May 2, the United States government allowed implementation of Title III of the Helms-Burton Act, for the first time since the law was enacted in 1996, to permit U.S. nationals to sue persons that “traffic” in...more
5/3/2019
/ Banking Sector ,
Blocked Person ,
Cuba ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Foreign Relations ,
General Licenses ,
National Security ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Personal Jurisdiction ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Scope of Discovery Requests ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Trafficking ,
Travel Restrictions ,
Treble Damages ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Visa Restrictions
• OFAC recently added a Moscow-based Russian-Venezuelan joint venture bank, Evrofinance Mosnarbank (“Evrofinance”), to the List of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (the “SDN List”) for engaging in sanctions...more
3/29/2019
/ Banking Sector ,
Blocked Person ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Financial Institutions ,
Foreign Policy ,
General Licenses ,
Joint Venture ,
National Security ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Oil & Gas ,
Russia ,
SDN List ,
Trump Administration ,
Venezuela
• On January 28, 2019, OFAC added the Venezuelan state-owned oil and natural gas company PdVSA to its SDN List.
• As a result, U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions with PdVSA and entities that...more
2/6/2019
/ Blocked Person ,
Bonds ,
Capital Markets ,
Debt-Equity ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Energy Sector ,
Executive Orders ,
General Licenses ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Oil & Gas ,
SDN List ,
Securities Transactions ,
State-Owned Enterprises ,
Trump Administration ,
Venezuela
• On November 28, 2018, OFAC designated two Iran-based individuals who helped exchange cryptocurrency (bitcoin) into fiat currency on behalf of alleged ransomware perpetrators who targeted U.S. businesses and municipal...more
1/11/2019
/ Bitcoin ,
Blocked Person ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Digital Currency ,
Digital Wallets ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Institutions ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Ransomware ,
SDN List ,
U.S. Treasury
• On November 27, 2018, the Trump administration issued an executive order establishing a new sanctions regime against Nicaragua.
• This occurs as the Trump Administration has articulated an approach to Latin America in...more
• As of November 5, 2018, the United States concluded the second of two wind-down periods for re-imposition of U.S. sanctions on Iran following the May 8, 2018, announcement that the United States would cease participation in...more
11/27/2018
/ Aircraft ,
Blocking Statutes ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
Exports ,
Foreign Financial Institutions (FFI) ,
Foreign Policy ,
Foreign Relations ,
General Licenses ,
Goods or Services ,
Humanitarian Assistance ,
Imports ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) ,
Nuclear Weapons ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Oil & Gas ,
Popular ,
SDN List ,
Special Purpose Vehicles ,
SWIFT ,
Trade Policy ,
Trump Administration ,
Vessels
• On September 20, 2018, for the first time, the Trump administration imposed sanctions on a non-U.S. entity and its director for engaging in “significant transactions” with a Russian defense sector company included on the...more
9/26/2018
/ Blocked Person ,
CAATSA ,
Defense Sector ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Executive Orders ,
Intelligence Services ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Russia ,
SDN List ,
Secondary Sanctions ,
Suppliers ,
Trump Administration
• On August 6, 2018, following President Trump’s decision to withdraw the United States from the JCPOA, the U.S. government announced the reimposition of sanctions on Iran’s automotive sector, its trade in gold and precious...more
8/17/2018
/ Blocking Statutes ,
Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
Executive Orders ,
International Relations ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
SDN List ,
Secondary Sanctions ,
Trade Relations ,
Trump Administration ,
Winding Down ,
Withdrawal
• On May 22, 2018, OFAC issued General License 15, authorizing U.S. persons to engage in specified transactions related to maintenance or wind-down of operations, contracts or other agreements involving GAZ Group or any...more
• On May 21, 2018, the Trump administration imposed new sanctions on the Government of Venezuela in response to the reelection of President Maduro and the “deepening humanitarian and public health crisis” fueled by the Maduro...more
• The U.S. government has withdrawn from the Iran Nuclear Deal and reverted sanctions to the status quo ante by re-imposing secondary sanctions that restrict non-U.S. persons from engaging in a broad range of business in...more
5/10/2018
/ Controlled Foreign Corporations ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Exports ,
Foreign Financial Institutions (FFI) ,
Foreign Policy ,
Foreign Relations ,
General Licenses ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
SDN List ,
Trade Policy ,
Trump Administration
• On May 1, 2018, OFAC issued General License 13A authorizing the divestment or transfer of certain debt, equity or other holdings issued by EN+ Group, GAZ Group or United Company RUSAL PLC, as well as entities in which such...more
Today, OFAC issued General License 14, authorizing U.S. persons to engage in specified transactions related to maintenance or wind down of operations, contracts or other agreements involving RUSAL until October 23, 2018,...more
On April 6, 2018, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned a number of Russian businessmen and companies, as well as Russian government officials and two state-owned entities. The...more
• On April 6, 2018, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) placed seven prominent Russian businessmen, 12 companies, 17 senior Russian government officials, and a state-owned Russian...more
4/9/2018
/ Banking Sector ,
Blocked Person ,
CAATSA ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Executive Orders ,
Financial Institutions ,
General Licenses ,
Government Officials ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Russia ,
SDN List ,
State-Owned Enterprises ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Treasury
On January 12, 2018, the U.S. administration took three actions relating to Iran -
• First, President Trump waived again the application of certain nuclear sanctions while making clear that the United States will refuse to...more
• The next significant Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA)-related deadline for the Trump administration is January 29, 2018, when it must submit reports to Congress on “oligarchs and parastatal...more
1/22/2018
/ Arctic Drilling ,
CAATSA ,
Defense Sector ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Energy Sector ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Financial Institutions (FFI) ,
National Security ,
New Guidance ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Oil & Gas ,
Russia ,
Shale Gas ,
Trump Administration
• On November 9, 2017, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the U.S. Department of State, and the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) took coordinated...more
12/22/2017
/ Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Cuba ,
Cuban Assets Control Regulations (CACR) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Exports ,
Financial Transactions ,
National Security ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Presidential Memorandum ,
Private Sector ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
U.S. Treasury ,
US Department of State
• Effective October 13, 2017, President Trump declined to provide certification that the JCPOA is in the United States’ national interest. Following this “decertification,” the U.S. Congress has 60 days in which to introduce...more
11/2/2017
/ Anti-Terrorism Financing ,
Decertify ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Policy ,
Foreign Relations ,
Iran ,
Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015 (INARA) ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) ,
Legislative Amendments ,
Members of Congress ,
Nuclear Weapons ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Proposed Legislation ,
SDN List ,
Sunset Provisions ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Treasury
• On October 27, 2017, the U.S. State Department issued guidance identifying 39 entities related to the defense and intelligence sectors of the Government of the Russian Federation and issued related guidance on criteria to...more
10/31/2017
/ Defense Sector ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Export-Import Bank of the US ,
Exports ,
Extraterritoriality Rules ,
Financial Institutions ,
Foreign Exchanges ,
National Intelligence Agencies ,
New Guidance ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Russia ,
Secretary of the Treasury ,
State-Owned Enterprises ,
Trump Administration ,
US State Departments
Based on certain State Department findings, effective October 12, 2017, long-standing U.S. sanctions on the Republic of Sudan administered by OFAC under the Sudan Sanctions Regulations will be terminated, and U.S. persons...more
10/13/2017
/ Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Commerce Control List ,
Commodities ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Executive Orders ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Exports ,
General Licenses ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
SDN List ,
Secretary of State ,
Sudan ,
Trade Restrictions ,
Trump Administration ,
TSRA
On September 29, 2017, OFAC modified Directives 1 and 2 of Executive Order 13662 to reduce the permissible maturity for new debt issued by Russian financial and energy entities designated under these directives, as well as...more
10/5/2017
/ Banking Sector ,
Cybersecurity ,
Debt ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Energy Sector ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Financial Institutions (FFI) ,
Foreign Relations ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Presidential Directives ,
Russia ,
Trump Administration ,
Ukraine
On September 21, 2017, the White House announced additional sanctions against North Korea, following a new round of sanctions imposed by the United Nations on September 11 and an escalation of U.S. sanctions previously...more
9/26/2017
/ Aircraft ,
Anti-Terrorism Financing ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Executive Orders ,
Exports ,
Foreign Financial Institutions (FFI) ,
Foreign Relations ,
Fund Transfers ,
North Korea ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Secretary of State ,
Secretary of the Treasury ,
Trade Restrictions ,
Trump Administration ,
Vessels