Top EU Court Rules on the EU Blocking Regulation Against US Sanctions for the First Time -
On December 21, 2021, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), sitting as a “Grand Chamber” (a formation used, among...more
On November 1, 2021, the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets (PWG) - along with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) - published the Report on...more
11/16/2021
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Blockchain ,
CFTC ,
Cross-Border ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Exchange Rates ,
FDIC ,
FinCEN ,
FSOC ,
Information Reports ,
Legislative Agendas ,
OCC ,
Payment Systems ,
Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Risk Assessment ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Stablecoins
On September 21, 2021, the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) levied its first sanctions against a Russian-operated virtual currency exchange involved in ransomware payments and published an...more
9/24/2021
/ Advisory Opinions ,
AML/CFT ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Compliance ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Currency Exchange ,
Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
FinCEN ,
Know Your Customers ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Ransomware ,
Russia ,
SDN List ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Virtual Currency
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) has continued a spate of regulatory activity related to financial crimes compliance matters in the first year of the Biden Administration, recapped in its recent report...more
7/15/2021
/ AML/CFT ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Banking Sector ,
Biden Administration ,
Compliance ,
Cybersecurity ,
Drug Trafficking ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Financial Crimes ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
Human Trafficking ,
No-Action Letters ,
Nonbank Firms ,
Ransomware ,
Significant Transnational Criminal Organization ,
Terrorism Funding ,
Virtual Currency
On June 3, 2021, President Biden issued a National Security Memorandum establishing the fight against corruption both at home and abroad as a core United States national security interest and directing the development of a...more
6/9/2021
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Biden Administration ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Governance ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Financial Institutions ,
Foreign Corporations ,
Government Agencies ,
National Security ,
NDAA ,
Patriot Act ,
Presidential Memorandum ,
Transparency
On April 29, 2021, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced two settlements of potential civil liability with two companies over their apparent violations of its regulations. The...more
5/7/2021
/ Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Compliance ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Due Diligence ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Money Transfer ,
Moneygram ,
Non-Prosecution Agreements ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Pass-Through Entities ,
SAP SE ,
SDN List ,
Settlement ,
Subsidiaries ,
Third-Party Risk ,
Voluntary Disclosure
On April 15, 2021, President Biden signed a new executive order, Blocking Property with Respect to Specified Harmful Foreign Activities of the Government of the Russian Federation, escalating US sanctions against the Russian...more
Anti-money laundering (“AML”) issues have been a focus of regulators and law enforcement for the past decade and will likely continue to be a priority issue area for the Biden Administration. The AML landscape is shifting...more
2/12/2021
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Beneficial Owner ,
BSA/AML ,
Customer Due Diligence (CDD) ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
Money Laundering ,
NDAA ,
Patriot Act ,
Risk Assessment ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs)
Assets Control (OFAC) and Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) each issued advisories addressing the risks associated with facilitating ransomware payments: the Advisory on Potential Sanctions Risks for Facilitating...more
Two recent actions by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) - one enforcement action and one interpretive note - focus attention on the kinds of anti–money laundering (AML) controls needed for banks to custody...more
8/7/2020
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
BSA/AML ,
Compliance ,
Consent Order ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Custody ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
OCC
The COVID-19 pandemic has had profound economic and political effects over the past several months. Increasingly, those effects have led a number of US policymakers, US allies, and others to question certain US sanctions...more
5/5/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Economic Downturn ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Human Rights ,
Importers ,
Imports ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Medical Equipment ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Trade Relations ,
U.S. Treasury
In this alert, we summarize recent guidance from federal regulators and self-regulatory organizations - including the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the Office of...more
4/28/2020
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
CARES Act ,
Compliance ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Financial Crimes ,
Financial Fraud ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Agencies ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP)
On December 13, 2019, the National Security Division (NSD) of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a revised policy regarding voluntary disclosure of export control and sanctions violations by business organizations...more
12/27/2019
/ Amended Regulation ,
Arms Export Control Act ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Compliance ,
Cooperation ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Guidance ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Control Reform Act (ECRA) ,
Export Controls ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) ,
ITAR ,
National Security ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Voluntary Disclosure ,
Willful Blindness ,
Willful Misconduct
On August 5, 2019, President Donald Trump signed Executive Order 13884, Executive Order Blocking Property of the Government of Venezuela (EO 13884). EO 13884 is designed to further increase pressure on the Nicolás Maduro...more
8/7/2019
/ Blocked Person ,
Citgo ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Executive Orders ,
Financial Institutions ,
Foreign Policy ,
General Licenses ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Petroleum ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Venezuela
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
7/29/2019
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
BSA/AML ,
Cuba ,
Customer Due Diligence (CDD) ,
Drug Trafficking ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
FinCEN ,
Human Trafficking ,
Iran ,
Magnitsky Act ,
Nicaragua ,
North Korea ,
Russia ,
Sudan ,
Trump Administration ,
Venezuela ,
Virtual Currency
On March 27, 2019, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced a settlement agreement with US-based Stanley Black & Decker, Inc., (Stanley Black & Decker) and its foreign subsidiary, Jiangsu Guoqiang Tools Co., Ltd....more
4/2/2019
/ Black & Decker ,
Chief Compliance Officers ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Exports ,
Foreign Subsidiaries ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Settlement ,
Subsidiaries
The myriad—and conflicting—state, federal and international laws governing the burgeoning marijuana industry have created a complicated legal landscape for financial institutions. In the United States, most states have...more
2/8/2019
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Canada ,
Cannabidiol (CBD) oil ,
Cole Memorandum ,
Controlled Substances Act ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Farm Bill ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Hemp ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA) ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Risk Management ,
State and Local Government ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs)
Yesterday, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PdVSA) pursuant to Executive Order 13850, adding the state-owned Venezuelan oil company to its...more
On November 28, the Treasury Department sanctioned two Iran-based individuals for exchanging bitcoin into Iranian rials on behalf of malicious cyber actors involved in the SamSam ransomware scheme. Notably, this action marks...more
12/3/2018
/ Bitcoin ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Currency ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Iran ,
New Guidance ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Ransomware ,
SDN List ,
U.S. Treasury
On Tuesday, May 8, President Trump announced that the United States would end its participation in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), signed by the Permanent Five Members of the Security Council plus Germany...more