The Council of the European Union (Council) has updated its EU Best Practices for the Effective Implementation of Restrictive Measures. Published on 3 July 2024, the new version clarifies the threshold for the ownership test...more
On April 24, 2024, President Joe Biden signed the 21st Century Peace Through Strength Act (Act) into law. The Act, which is part of a broader law providing supplemental aid to Israel, Taiwan and Ukraine, contains several...more
6/3/2024
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Biden Administration ,
CFIUS ,
Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) ,
International Trade ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Russia ,
Statute of Limitations ,
TWEA ,
UK
On April 24, 2024, President Joe Biden signed into law a high-profile package of national security legislation (Public Law 118-50). While most press reports focused on the spending elements of the package (appropriating funds...more
5/3/2024
/ Asset Freeze ,
Asset Seizure ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Export Controls ,
International Trade ,
Investors ,
Joe Biden ,
Legislative Agendas ,
National Security ,
New Legislation ,
Russia ,
Ukraine
On March 21, 2024, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) published a final rule amending the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) by imposing “end user” export control restrictions against...more
3/26/2024
/ Blocked Person ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
International Trade ,
National Security ,
New Rules ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
SDN List
On October 18, 2023, following the signing of an electoral roadmap between Venezuela’s Unitary Platform and representatives of the Maduro regime, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)...more
On July 26, 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ’s) National Security Division (NSD), the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), and the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign...more
8/1/2023
/ Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Compliance ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Export Controls ,
International Trade ,
National Security ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Self-Disclosure Requirements ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Voluntary Disclosure ,
Whistleblowers
Through a series of coordinated actions in May 2023, the United States launched a whole-of-government effort to expand and strengthen enforcement of its sanctions campaign against Russia as the conflict in Ukraine continues...more
6/6/2023
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
CFIUS ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Export Controls ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
International Trade ,
National Security ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Russia
DOJ Increases Resources To Investigate and Prosecute Sanctions Evasion and Export Control Violations -
On March 2, 2023, during a keynote speech at the American Bar Association’s annual White Collar Crime National...more
3/17/2023
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Entities ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Financial Institutions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
International Trade ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Russia ,
Self-Disclosure Requirements ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
U.S. Treasury ,
UK ,
Voluntary Disclosure
On February 24, 2023, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) announced four new rules expanding restrictions on exports to Russia and Belarus. The revisions to the Export Administration...more
The withdrawal of Western companies from Russia in the wake of the war in Ukraine has garnered a lot of attention. But the process does not take place overnight, and many foreign companies that have operated in Russia face...more
12/16/2022
/ Acquisitions ,
Best Practices ,
Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
Exit Transactions ,
Export Controls ,
Foreign Investment ,
Investment ,
Jurisdiction ,
Russia ,
UK ,
Ukraine
The pandemic’s impact may be subsiding, but businesses are encountering new challenges across the globe, including the potential for an economic retrenchment, rising interest rates, shifting regulatory and litigation...more
12/14/2022
/ Acquisitions ,
Anti-Corruption ,
Antitrust Division ,
Banking Sector ,
Big Tech ,
Board of Directors ,
Bonds ,
Borrowers ,
Capital Markets ,
Capital Raising ,
China ,
Climate Change ,
Convertible Notes ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Restructuring ,
Creditors ,
Cross-Border ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Due Diligence ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Executive Compensation ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Forum Selection ,
Investigations ,
IRS ,
Lenders ,
Mergers ,
Money Laundering ,
Partnerships ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Recessions ,
Repurchases ,
Russia ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Litigation ,
Shareholders ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) ,
Taxation ,
Technology ,
UK ,
Vertical Mergers
On December 5, 2022, the price cap on Russian crude oil that was announced by the G-7 finance ministers in September 2022 went into effect at a level of $60 per barrel. The price cap is implemented by prohibiting the...more
In light of the recent referendums and purported annexation by Russia of four territories of Ukraine on September 30, 2022, the United States, United Kingdom and European Union have expanded measures and provided additional...more
10/14/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Foreign Policy ,
Foreign Relations ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Russia ,
UK ,
Ukraine
Even though significant sanctions and export controls have already been put in place, the United States recently adopted additional measures targeting key elements of the Russian economy and military industry in response to...more
Since the publication of our March 24, 2022, and March 17, 2022, client alerts, the U.S., U.K. and European Union, among other allied nations, have imposed additional sanctions and export controls on key elements of the...more
5/2/2022
/ Blocking Sanctions ,
Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Financial Institutions ,
Foreign Policy ,
Foreign Relations ,
General Licenses ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
Russia ,
UK
On March 11, 2022, President Joe Biden signed Executive Order 14068 (E.O. 14068) imposing new restrictions on imports and exports with respect to Russia as well as on the supply of U.S. dollar-denominated banknotes to the...more
3/22/2022
/ Bank Notes ,
Banks ,
Biden Administration ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Executive Orders ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Financial Institutions ,
Luxury Goods ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Russia ,
Ukraine
On March 8, 2022, President Joe Biden issued Executive Order (E.O.) 14066, which bans the import of Russian oil, gas and other energy products into the United States and imposes sweeping prohibitions on new U.S. investment in...more
Since the publication of our February 26, 2022, client alert, the United States, United Kingdom and the European Union, among other allied nations, have imposed additional sanctions and export controls on key elements of the...more
3/10/2022
/ Belarus ,
Blocking Sanctions ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Export Controls ,
Financial Institutions ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
Russia ,
SWIFT ,
Ukraine
The United States, United Kingdom and the European Union, among other allies, have moved swiftly in response to the Russian Federation’s invasion of Ukraine. Merely hours after Russia’s announcement on February 21, 2022, that...more
The European Union Blocking Statute was originally adopted in 1996 to counteract US sanctions on Cuba, Iran and Libya, but following a memorandum of understanding entered into between the EU and the US, it has seldom been...more
On October 15, 2021, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued detailed guidance to the virtual currency industry, putting virtual currency companies on notice of the ways OFAC...more
Sanctions -
The Biden administration has made clear that economic sanctions will continue to be an important U.S. foreign policy tool and has initiated a comprehensive review of current sanctions policies and practices....more
In the wake of China’s new national security law for Hong Kong that went into effect on June 30, 2020, the Trump administration has taken several steps to significantly pare back Hong Kong’s preferential status under U.S....more
7/20/2020
/ Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
China ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
Foreign Financial Institutions (FFI) ,
Foreign Persons ,
Hong Kong ,
Hong Kong Autonomy Act (HKAA) ,
Human Rights ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Preferential Trade Status ,
Revocation ,
Risk Assessment ,
Rollbacks ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
US Trade Policies
Addressing the Evolving Risks -
Warren Buffett said that “only when the tide goes out do you discover who’s been swimming naked.” Buffett was not talking about compliance programs in a time of crisis, but his wisdom applies...more
5/2/2020
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
BSA/AML ,
Compliance ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Cybersecurity ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
FFIEC ,
Financial Distress ,
Financial Fraud ,
FinCEN ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Market Manipulation ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Risk Assessment ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Sanction Violations ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
In light of Turkey’s military intervention in northeast Syria, President Donald Trump issued, on October 14, 2019, Executive Order 13894 (EO 13894), “Blocking Property and Suspending Entry of Certain Persons Contributing to...more
10/21/2019
/ Blocked Person ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Financial Institutions (FFI) ,
General Licenses ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
SDN List ,
Secondary Sanctions ,
Steel Industry ,
Syria ,
Tariffs ,
Trump Administration ,
Turkey