Key Takeaways: - After a 5-month pause, OFAC recently announced four sanctions enforcement actions, making clear it is rigorously enforcing sanctions violations across a wide range of programs (including Russia, Iran,...more
On June 20, 2025, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced a change in how E-Verify will manage the termination notification of employees with Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) that have been revoked....more
On June 12, 2025, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officially terminated the Biden-era parole program for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans (CHNV). This DHS notice revokes both their parole and their...more
President Trump’s “America First Trade Policy” is creating new sanctions compliance risk for financial services institutions and companies in an area that historically has not received as much enforcement attention: drug...more
Telefónica Venezolana C.A. (“Telefónica Venezolana”), the Venezuela-based subsidiary of Telefónica S.A. (Telefónica), the Spanish telecommunications company entered into a deferred prosecution agreement (“DPA”) and agreed to...more
Designed for busy in-house counsel, compliance professionals, and anti-corruption lawyers, this newsletter summarizes some of the most important international anti-corruption law and enforcement developments from the past...more
2023 was another record year for U.S. sanctions and the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). Most prominently, OFAC continued to impose significant additional sanctions on Russia in...more
The sanctions world experienced another action-packed year in 2023. Sanctions against Russia dominated the year in terms of the number of designations and new restrictions, and the attacks perpetrated by Hamas in Israel on 7...more
October saw two major enforcement actions involving Russia. First, three individuals were indicted for facilitating the export of controlled U.S.-origin electronics to Russia. Second, the president of a U.S. steel trading...more
The centrality of international trade laws in the development and execution of U.S. foreign policy has never been more evident than in 2022. Companies that have not invested in international trade compliance programs are...more
Uphold is a California-based money service business. Uphold agreed to pay OFAC $72,230 to resolve multiple sanctions program violations....more
On March 31, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced a $72,230 settlement with a global digital trading platform to resolve allegations that it processed transactions for customers who...more
The American Conference Institute is hosting their 17th Annual Flagship Conference on U.S. Economic Sanctions Enforcement and Compliance on April 25-26, 2023, in Washington! Don’t miss the opportunity to stay current with the...more
2022 was an unprecedented year for U.S. sanctions and the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). While the sweeping new U.S. sanctions imposed against Russia and Belarus in unparalleled...more
Russia - Former Special Agent in Charge of the FBI New York Counterintelligence Division Charged with Violating U.S. Sanctions on Russia (DOJ) Those involved. Charles McGonigal, former Special Agent in Charge of the FBI...more
On January 17, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control issued Venezuela-related General License (GL) 5J, which supersedes GL 5I and authorizes certain transactions otherwise prohibited under Executive...more
The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Asset Control (“OFAC”) is a busy enforcement agency. OFAC has implemented the comprehensive Russia Sanctions Program in response to Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine. The scope and...more
On May 27, OFAC announced a civil settlement with a Puerto Rico-based bank in connection with apparent violations of the Venezuela Sanctions Regulations. While the settlement amount of $255,938 is a fraction of the...more
Enforcement authorities throughout the Americas continued investigations of fraud, corruption, and other misconduct across the region. Below are some of the highlights of the last quarter. ...more
The Justice Department continues to pursue criminal cases against Venezuelan officials at Petróleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA) in an attempt to strangle President Nicolas Maduro. DOJ has been pursuing a three-pronged strategy...more
To our bad guys, 2019 was a year flush with hope and opportunity; it ended with recidivism, more misery from Venezuela, a charlatan, an Okie who pulled a multi-million dollar fast-one on Chesapeake and, as in years past, a...more
A Textbook Case of Alleged Money Laundering? On November 18, 2019, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York announced the arrest and unsealed the indictment of Bruce Bagley – a 73-year-old college professor...more
This issue of Skadden’s semiannual Cross-Border Investigations Update takes a close look at recent cases, regulatory activity and other key developments, including a review of the first year of GDPR enforcement, analysis of...more
Bank Secrecy Act/anti-money laundering (BSA/AML) and sanctions matters continue to be a core focus of regulators, law enforcement agencies, policymakers and Congress, and the story of the Obama and Trump Administrations on...more
Last week, a grand jury in the Southern District of Florida indicted two former Venezuelan officials, charging them with seven counts of money laundering and one count of money-laundering conspiracy. The charges relate to...more