On August 25, 2017, President Trump issued an Executive Order (EO) imposing economic sanctions related to Venezuela. The new measures prohibit U.S. persons from engaging in certain debt-, equity-, and securities-related...more
8/31/2017
/ Agricultural Sector ,
Blocked Person ,
Bonds ,
Citgo ,
Debt-Equity ,
Dividends ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Executive Orders ,
General Licenses ,
Medical Devices ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Patented Medicines ,
SDN List ,
Securities Transactions ,
Trump Administration ,
Venezuela
• This enforcement action highlights the heightened sanctions compliance and enforcement risk that companies face when engaging third-party consultants to perform due diligence on counterparties. U.S. persons must make clear...more
8/28/2017
/ Due Diligence ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
General Licenses ,
Imports ,
IPSA ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
ITSR ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Sanction Violations ,
Settlement
On July 27, 2017, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced the civil settlement with CSE TransTel Pte. Ltd. (“TransTel”) and CSE Global Limited (“CSE Global”) in the amount of...more
8/12/2017
/ Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Transactions ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Jurisdiction ,
Non-US Entities ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Penalties ,
Sanction Violations ,
SDN List ,
Section 203 ,
Settlement
On July 31, 2017, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced the addition of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to its list of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons...more
8/7/2017
/ Asset Freeze ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Policy ,
Foreign Relations ,
Government Officials ,
Obama Administration ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
SDN List ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Venezuela
On June 16, 2017, the Trump administration issued a national security presidential memorandum entitled “Strengthening the Policy of the United States Towards Cuba” (the “Presidential Memorandum”). Related to this...more
6/21/2017
/ Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Business Licenses ,
Cuba ,
Department of Transportation (DOT) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Financial Transactions ,
Internet ,
Obama Administration ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Presidential Memorandum ,
Tourism ,
Travel Restrictions ,
Trump Administration
Key Points -
- The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control has added 25 new entities and individuals to its Specially Designated Nationals List, including some located in China, Lebanon,...more
On February 2, 2017, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued Cyber-related General License (GL) 1, a general license that authorizes certain transactions with Russia’s Federal...more
Key Points -
- Effective today, a new general license reverses two decades of U.S. policy by authorizing all transactions otherwise prohibited by the Sudanese Sanctions Regulations (SSR), including all transactions...more
Key Points -
- This action marks the first time sanctions have been imposed under the Cybersecurity Sanctions Program established on April 1, 2015, with the designation of nine entities and individuals.
-...more
1/5/2017
/ Barack Obama ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Cybersecurity ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Executive Orders ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
FBI ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Russia ,
Sanctions ,
SDN List ,
U.S. Commerce Department
On December 23, 2016, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued a Final Rule amending the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations, 31 C.F.R. Part 560 (ITSR) to expand the...more
On October 2, 2016, the National Security Division (NSD) of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) established a formal, voluntary self-disclosure program for criminal violations of U.S. economic sanctions and export controls...more
Key Points -
- OFAC’s latest changes expand opportunities for U.S. persons to engage in medical research with Cuban nationals, authorize U.S. persons to obtain FDA approval of Cuba-origin pharmaceuticals, and market...more
On October 7, 2016, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) published new guidance clarifying (a) circumstances under which non-U.S. financial institutions (FFIs) may engage in U.S. dollar...more
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued new Russia/Ukraine-related sanctions on Thursday, September 1, 2016. This action marks OFAC’s first major expansion of the Specially...more
On July 29, 2016, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued a new General License J (GL-J). GL-J authorizes the reexportation of certain civil aircraft on temporary sojourn to Iran,...more
If you only read one thing...
- The Hizballah Financial Sanctions Regulations (HFSR) are intended to disrupt Hizballah’s global logistics and financial network by providing a new basis of secondary sanctions...more
On March 24, 2016, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued General License I authorizing U.S. persons to undertake certain transactions ordinarily incident to the negotiation of, and...more
On Wednesday, March 16, 2016, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) implemented amendments to the Cuban...more
If you read one thing…
- Further relaxation of sanctions on Cuba, effective on January 27, 2016, allows U.S. financial institutions to finance authorized exports and reexports to Cuba of items other than...more
On November 2, 2015, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) updated the List of Medical Supplies eligible for export or reexport to Iran under the general license set forth at Section...more
On October 18, 2015, the day on which the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (“JCPOA”) became effective (“Adoption Day”), the U.S. Department of State (“State Department”) issued contingent waivers of certain extraterritorial...more
10/21/2015
/ Banking Sector ,
Energy Sector ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
IAEA ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
SDN List ,
US Department of State ,
Waivers
On Monday, September 21, 2015, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) implemented amendments to the Cuban...more
9/23/2015
/ Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Cuba ,
Cuban Assets Control Regulations (CACR) ,
Economic Development ,
Educational Institutions ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Foreign Policy ,
Obama Administration ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Sanctions ,
Telecommunications ,
Trade Relations ,
Travel ,
U.S. Treasury
On September 2, 2015, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued a final rule amending the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) by adding 29 parties to its Entity List, a...more
9/9/2015
/ Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Defense Sector ,
Energy Sector ,
EU ,
Executive Orders ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
National Security ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Oil & Gas ,
Russia ,
Sanctions ,
SDN List ,
U.S. Commerce Department
On August 7, 2015, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) published a final rule adding the Yuzhno-Kirinskoye Field, a Russian oil and gas field located in the Sea of Okhotsk, to its Entity...more
On July 30, 2015, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued a Crimea Sanctions Advisory highlighting certain practices that have been used to circumvent or evade U.S. sanctions...more