After an unusually quiet year bringing enforcement cases in 2018, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) has assumed an unprecedented pace in 2019 – since January 31, OFAC has...more
On April 25, 2019, Haverly Systems, Inc. (Haverly) agreed to pay a penalty of $75,375 to the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to settle charges related to two violations of sanctions...more
4/30/2019
/ Compliance ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Goods or Services ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Payment Terms ,
Penalties ,
Russia ,
Sanction Violations ,
SSI List
Last week, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”), the EU Council, and Canada imposed further sanctions targeting Russian individuals and entities allegedly involved in the escalation of...more
3/22/2019
/ Australia ,
Banks ,
Blocked Entities ,
Blocked Person ,
CAATSA ,
Canada ,
CBW Act ,
Economic Sanctions ,
EU Council of Ministers ,
Executive Orders ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Liquid Natural Gas ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Oil & Gas ,
Popular ,
Russia ,
SDN List ,
Ukraine ,
US State Departments ,
Venezuela
On February 1, 2019, the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) issued guidance in the form of Frequently Asked Questions (“FAQs”) relating to sanctions imposed on January 28, 2019 against...more
2/4/2019
/ Blocked Person ,
Bonds ,
Derivatives ,
Due Diligence ,
Economic Sanctions ,
General Licenses ,
Non U.S. Person ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Oil & Gas ,
SDN List ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Venezuela ,
Winding Down
On January 28, 2019, the United States imposed blocking sanctions on Petróleos de Venezuela SA (“PdVSA”), the Venezuelan state-owned oil company. The measures follow President Trump’s recent decision to recognize Juan Guaidó,...more
1/31/2019
/ Blocked Person ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Energy Sector ,
Executive Orders ,
Financial Institutions ,
Foreign Investment ,
Imports ,
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Oil & Gas ,
Presidential Elections ,
SDN List ,
Trump Administration ,
Venezuela ,
Winding Down
For years, regulators around the world have struggled with whether and how to police the offering and exchange of digital assets (including virtual currencies such as Bitcoin). In the United States, such efforts were stymied...more
12/17/2018
/ Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
Blocked Person ,
CFTC ,
Compliance ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Economic Sanctions ,
FinCEN ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Risk Assessment ,
SDN List ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Virtual Currency
In a long-anticipated move, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”), on November 28, 2018, took direct aim at the illicit use of digital currencies by identifying two digital currency...more
On November 5, 2018, applicable wind-down periods for certain transactions with Iran ended and the second and final set of U.S. secondary sanctions that had been lifted pursuant to the Iran nuclear deal – the Joint...more
11/7/2018
/ Blocking Statutes ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Energy Sector ,
EU ,
Exports ,
FinCEN ,
Foreign Financial Institutions (FFI) ,
Foreign Policy ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Petroleum ,
SDN List ,
Secondary Sanctions ,
Shipping ,
Special Purpose Vehicles ,
Trump Administration
As expected, following his May 8, 2018, decision to withdraw the United States from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (“JCPOA”), President Trump signed a new Executive Order (“E.O.”) on August 6, 2018, formally...more
8/9/2018
/ Blocking Statutes ,
EU ,
Executive Orders ,
Financial Institutions ,
International Relations ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) ,
Nuclear Power ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
SDN List ,
Secondary Sanctions ,
Trump Administration ,
Winding Down ,
Withdrawal
The U.S. yesterday commenced the phased re-introduction of its pre-JCPOA extra-territorial sanctions in relation to Iran – with some measures applying immediately, and others from 5 November. The EU has condemned U.S....more
8/9/2018
/ Blocking Statutes ,
China ,
Economic Damages ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Extraterritoriality Rules ,
Financing ,
Foreign Relations ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) ,
Member State ,
Notice Requirements ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Russia ,
Secondary Sanctions ,
Trump Administration
International sanctions are a major compliance challenge for companies worldwide. The regulatory risks associated with economic sanctions, asset-freezing measures and trade embargoes are not new, but they continue to grow in...more
7/19/2018
/ Blocking Statutes ,
Bonds ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Debt Buyers ,
Debt-Equity ,
Defense Sector ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Energy Sector ,
EU ,
Financial Markets ,
General Licenses ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Oil & Gas ,
Popular ,
Russia ,
SDN List ,
Secondary Sanctions ,
Syria ,
Trump Administration ,
Ukraine ,
Venezuela
The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has tightened Iran sanctions. Specifically, OFAC revoked authorizations that (1) allowed foreign subsidiaries of U.S. companies to do business in Iran;...more
Following the U.S. decision to withdraw from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and reimpose sanctions on Iran, the EU has confirmed its full commitment to keep the agreement alive for the remaining parties, as...more
6/13/2018
/ Blocking Statutes ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Exemptions ,
Foreign Relations ,
General Licenses ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
Sanction Violations ,
Secondary Sanctions ,
Trade Relations ,
Trump Administration ,
Waivers ,
WTO
President Trump announced today, May 8, 2018, that the United States would withdraw from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (“JCPOA”), the Iran nuclear deal implemented in January 2016. In connection with the...more
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the U.S. Department of the Treasury issued updated general licenses and related guidance in connection with sanctions imposed in April on certain Russian individuals and entities...more
The Trump Administration, on April 6, 2018, imposed sanctions on a number of Russian oligarchs with vast business interests, Russian government officials, officers of Russian state-owned enterprises, and related companies....more
The U.S. government has recently been active with respect to regulating cryptocurrencies. For its part, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) recently released guidance—issued in the form of...more
4/9/2018
/ Bitcoin ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Economic Sanctions ,
ETFs ,
Executive Orders ,
Hackers ,
New Guidance ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
SDN List ,
Venezuela ,
Virtual Currency
The United States announced new sanctions against the Venezuelan Government on August 25, 2017 that target the government’s ability to access U.S. debt and equity markets. The measures are intended to pressure Venezuelan...more
8/30/2017
/ Debt Instruments ,
Debt-Equity ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Executive Orders ,
Exports ,
General Licenses ,
Human Rights ,
Imports ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
SDN List ,
SSI List ,
Trump Administration ,
Venezuela
President Trump announced just before the weekend that he will reinstate certain travel and commercial restrictions related to Cuba that had been eased under the Obama Administration. While President Trump declared that he...more
The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) imposed sanctions on additional Russian and Crimean persons while also issuing a general license authorizing certain transactions with a...more
U.S. District Court Judge Richard M. Berman denied a motion to dismiss the indictment in the closely followed criminal prosecution of Reza Zarrab, a Turkish/Iranian businessman charged with conspiring to evade U.S. economic...more
10/20/2016
/ Banks ,
Blocked Entities ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Evasion ,
Extraterritoriality Rules ,
Financial Transactions ,
Foreign Relations ,
Fraud ,
General Licenses ,
Indictments ,
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) ,
International Litigation ,
Iran Sanctions ,
ITSR ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
Turkey
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) eased certain sanctions against Burma/Myanmar on May 17, 2016, including by allowing most transactions involving Burmese financial institutions....more
Effective April 16, 2016, the United States will implement sanctions pursuant to the Hizballah International Financing Prevention Act of 2015. The new sanctions target Hizballah (or Hezbollah) and non-U.S. persons who support...more
Public officials from the United States increasingly are making public statements regarding the likelihood that “Implementation Day” – the day on which many US and EU sanctions against Iran will be eased – will arrive in the...more
The United States and European Union took preparatory steps on 18 October 2015 to begin fulfilling their commitments to suspend certain sanctions against Iran pursuant to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (“JCPOA”)...more
10/22/2015
/ Adoption Day ,
Amending Regulation ,
EU ,
Financial Transactions ,
Implementation Day ,
Insurance Litigation ,
International Atomic Energy Agency ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) ,
Metals ,
Military Goods ,
Nuclear Power ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Oil & Gas ,
SDN List ,
Shipping ,
UN Security Council