On 10 January 2020, in response to missile attacks by the Iranian military targeting two U.S. bases in Iraq, the United States Department of the Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated a number of senior...more
1/14/2020
/ Blocked Person ,
Construction Project ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Policy ,
Foreign Relations ,
Goods or Services ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Manufacturers ,
Mining ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Prohibited Transactions ,
SDN List ,
Textiles ,
Trump Administration
On 13 December 2019 the U.S. Department of Justice's (DOJ) National Security Division (NSD) announced the release of its long-anticipated and updated Export Control and Sanction Enforcement Policy for Business Organizations...more
12/19/2019
/ Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Authority ,
Export Controls ,
FCPA Guidance ,
National Security ,
Policy Statement ,
Sanction Violations ,
Self-Reporting ,
Trade Relations ,
Willful Misconduct
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS or the committee), a U.S. government interagency committee that conducts national security reviews of foreign investments, has released its annual report for...more
On 6 November we held a breakfast seminar focusing on the most important sanctions issues affecting the City and how to manage compliance with different financial sanctions regimes effectively.
...more
12/3/2019
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Asset Management ,
Cooperative Compliance Regime ,
Corruption ,
Data Management ,
Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
Financial Institutions ,
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ,
Know Your Customers ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Personal Data ,
Private Equity ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Sanction Violations ,
UK ,
White Collar Crimes
On 26 November 2019 the U.S. Department of Commerce issued a long-awaited proposed rule (or draft regulations) to implement Executive Order 13873, "Securing the Information and Communications Technology and Services Supply...more
11/27/2019
/ Acquisitions ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Foreign Adversaries ,
Imports ,
Proposed Rules ,
Risk Assessment ,
Risk Management ,
Secretary of Commerce ,
Supply Chain ,
Telecommunications ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Commerce Department
On 5 November 2019 the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued two new general licenses authorizing certain transactions involving the government of Venezuela (GOV) and certain individuals affiliated with the GOV,...more
On 25 October the U.S. Departments of the Treasury and State announced the establishment of a new channel for conducting due diligence on humanitarian trade with Iran.
Foreign governments and foreign financial institutions...more
11/8/2019
/ AML/CFT ,
Due Diligence ,
FinCEN ,
Foreign Financial Institutions (FFI) ,
Foreign Relations ,
Humanitarian Assistance ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Money Laundering ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Trump Administration
On 21 October 2019 the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued a final rule amending Cuba-related provisions in the Export Administration Regulations (EAR).
The new rule further restricts exports and reexports of...more
10/25/2019
/ Aerospace ,
Aircraft Sales ,
Airlines ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Cuba ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Infrastructure ,
Licensing Rules ,
Revenue ,
Sanctions ,
Telecommunications ,
Threshold Requirements ,
Trade Relations ,
Vessels
On 14 October, President Donald Trump issued Executive Order 13894, Blocking Property and Suspending Entry of Certain Persons Contributing to the Situation in Syria (EO).
...more
10/18/2019
/ Blocked Person ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Financial Institutions (FFI) ,
Foreign Policy ,
Foreign Relations ,
General Licenses ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
SDN List ,
Syria ,
Trump Administration ,
Turkey ,
Unauthorized Transactions
On 7 October 2019 the U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) expanded the Entity List, restricting certain transactions with 28 Chinese entities.
...more
10/16/2019
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
China ,
Doing Business ,
ECCNs ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Educational Institutions ,
Entity List ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Foreign Entities ,
Human Rights ,
Research and Development ,
Surveillance ,
Universities
On 4 September 2019 the U.S. State Department issued "Draft 'U.S. Government Guidance for the Export of Hardware, Software and Technology with Surveillance Capabilities and/or parts/know-how'" (draft guidance).
...more
9/12/2019
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Best Practices ,
Big Data ,
Comment Period ,
Compliance Management Systems ,
Draft Guidance ,
Drones ,
Due Diligence ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Facial Recognition Technology ,
Human Rights ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Social Media ,
Software Developers ,
Spyware ,
Surveillance ,
Telecommunications ,
Trump Administration ,
US State Departments
The U.S. Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) is extending the temporary general license (TGL) for Huawei until 18 November 2019, and adding additional Huawei companies to the Entity List....more
On 2 August the United States announced that it will impose a second round of sanctions on Russia pursuant to the Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act of 1991 (CBW Act) (22 U.S.C. § 5601 et...more
On 14 August 2019 the U.S. Department of Commerce published a proposed change to the list of "Schedule 1" chemicals in the "Annex on Chemicals" to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC).
...more
On 5 August 2019 the Trump administration issued Executive Order 13884 (the executive order) imposing sweeping sanctions against the government of Venezuela, including its agencies and instrumentalities as well as any...more
On 20 June 2019 the Department of Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued a final interim rule (effective on 21 June 2019) amending its reporting, procedures, and penalties regulations, 31 Code of Federal...more
7/26/2019
/ Confidential Information ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Factoring Transactions ,
FOIA ,
Food Marketing Institute v Argus Leader Media ,
Interim Rule ,
License Applications ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements
Title III of the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act of 1996 (Helms-Burton) allows U.S. persons to bring an action in U.S. federal court to seek damages for “trafficking” in property confiscated by the...more
On 2 May 2019, the U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control ("OFAC"), the agency responsible for enforcing economic sanctions, published "A Framework for OFAC Compliance Commitments" (the "Framework") which outlines...more
7/3/2019
/ Cooperative Compliance Regime ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Failure to Comply ,
Foreign Policy ,
Foreign Relations ,
Framework Agreement ,
Fund Managers ,
Internal Controls ,
Investment Funds ,
Investment Management ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Private Equity ,
Risk Assessment ,
Sanction Violations
On 4 June 2019 the Trump administration implemented certain regulatory changes first announced on 17 April 2019 by National Security Advisor Ambassador John Bolton in a foreign policy address regarding the Trump...more
On 2 May 2019 the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued "A Framework for OFAC Compliance Commitments" (the framework), which outlines five components OFAC considers to be essential...more
SEA View: Our new monthly periodical has launched! From April 2019, this periodical will feature investigation, compliance, and regulatory developments in Southeast Asia (SEA). For a twelve-month spell, one monthly article...more
On 28 January 2019, the Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PdVSA) as a Specially Designated National (SDN) for operating in the oil sector of the...more
The United States is one of the easiest jurisdictions in the world in which to do business. Regulatory barriers are generally low, establishing a branch or business entity is quick and easy, labor and employment laws are much...more
1/23/2019
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Capital Markets ,
CFIUS ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Doing Business ,
FCPA Guidance ,
Foreign Investment ,
Immigration ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Labor Regulations ,
Regulatory Standards
On 19 December 2018, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) submitted a notification to Congress that it plans to terminate sanctions on three major companies originally designated for...more
The Commerce Department is soliciting public input on identification of certain "emerging technologies" for purposes of new export controls and the recently expanded jurisdiction of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the...more