Last week, the D.C. Circuit affirmed the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control’s (“OFAC”) wide latitude to impose Iran sanctions, but it set aside a $4.07 million penalty against car accessory seller Epsilon Electronics (“Epsilon”). The D.C. Circuit found that the agency cut too many corners in its investigation of Epsilon.

In July 2014, OFAC imposed the $4.07 million penalty on Epsilon, alleging that a series of shipments in 2012 by the company to Asra International Corporation, LLC in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (“Dubai Asra”) were destined for end-use in Iran. Sending products to Iran would violate the Iranian Transactions and Regulations. OFAC is authorized to impose civil penalties against individuals or entities who export to a third party who it has reason to know intends to send those goods to Iran.

The case dealt with the initial question of whether OFAC must prove that the goods ended up in Iran in order to hold the company liable for the breach of U.S. sanctions. The court determined that OFAC had enough evidence to support a finding that the first 34 shipments from Epsilon to Dubai Asra violated the sanctions. However, for the final five shipments, the court found that OFAC failed to explain why it discounted certain evidence and why the conclusion about the first 34 shipments applied to the last five, in light of the countervailing evidence presented. The evidence included several email exchanges between Epsilon’s sales team and Dubai Asra’s manager that indicated that the last five shipment were intended for a Dubai retail store and not Iran.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit remanded the case to the district court, with instructions to remand the matter to OFAC for further consideration of the alleged 2012 violations relating to the final five shipments, and calculation of the total monetary penalty imposed for all liability findings. While the court found that the government does not need to show that the goods actually ended up in Iran, the court did conclude that OFAC did not adequately explain its determination that Epsilon had reason to know that the goods would end up in Iran. Because OFAC failed to justify its conclusion that Epsilon should be held liable for the last five shipments as well as the first 34, the final liability determinations were deemed capricious and arbitrary.

The decision establishes key precedents related to trade compliance. The case shows that OFAC does not need to prove that the goods actually reached the sanctioned country in order to impose penalties. Additionally, the case shows that agency enforcement actions from OFAC can be subject to judicial review. This could lead to enhanced transparency between violators and the government imposing sanctions. For more information about the case, read the opinion here.

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