On March 20, 2025, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued a final rule extending the recordkeeping requirements under OFAC’s regulations from five years to 10 years. This change...more
During his 2024 presidential campaign, President-elect Donald Trump promised to impose a variety of new tariffs, even without congressional approval, including a 25%-75% tariff rate on Mexican imports, a 60% tariff rate on...more
On November 25, 2024, President-elect Donald Trump announced that, on his first day in office, he would impose new tariffs on all imports from Canada, Mexico and China. Specifically, in posts on the social media platform...more
President-Elect Trump campaigned on the promise to increase tariffs on imports to the United States. Shortly after the election he announced significant tariffs on goods from the three largest trading partners: China, Mexico,...more
Recent legislation, H.R. 815, the National Security Supplemental (“the Act”) – further explained by guidance issued by the U.S. Department of the Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) on July 22, 2024 – has...more
New developments in international trade laws will have tangible and far-reaching impacts on transactions as well as day-to-day business operations. President Biden’s signing of HR 815 means that once time-barred historic...more
Implications Related to the Doubling of the Statute of Limitations for Civil and Criminal Violations of Two Primary Sanctions Authorities - SUMMARY - On April 24, 2024, President Biden signed into law a foreign military...more
President Biden recently signed a foreign aid bill that will have significant implications for United States sanctions enforcement, specifically Section 206 of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1705)...more
Takeaways: •The Treasury Whistleblower Program now provides for guaranteed awards of 10% to 30% of the government recovery in covered actions- •The Treasury Whistleblower Program has been expanded to include not just tips...more
Companies around the world have been scrambling to understand the implications of the sanctions imposed by the United States following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Beyond sanctions, the United States has even more legal and...more
Recent ransomware attacks against U.S. critical infrastructure, which includes the energy sector’s production of oil and natural gas, and other sources of electricity and power, have shed a spotlight on the importance of...more
On October 1, 2020, the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued an advisory regarding the potential sanctions risk for entities that facilitate ransomware payments. OFAC defined “ransomware” as: A form...more
On October 30, 2020, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) published an advisory highlighting potential sanctions risks arising from dealings in “high-value artwork” (with “particular...more
Fraud and corruption thrive in chaos. The COVID-19 pandemic and its economic destabilization create the conditions in which misconduct can thrive....more
Apollo Settles Alleged Sanctions Violations: Aircraft Lessors Pay Attention - The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the U.S. Department of the Treasury has broad delegated authority to administer and enforce the...more
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the U.S. Department of the Treasury has broad delegated authority to administer and enforce the sanctions laws and related sanctions programs of the United States. As a key...more
In a decision that will provide reassurance both to prosecutors and to the institutions with whom they enter into deferred prosecution agreements (“DPAs”), the Second Circuit (Katzmann, Lynch, Pooler (concurring)) held in...more
On July 12, 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit overturned the district court’s decision to unseal the report of a special monitor charged with supervising HSBC Holdings plc and HSBC Bank, USA, N.A....more
President Trump has stated that he would impose tariffs on imports from China ranging from ten to forty-five percent. Can he do it? And will it cause a trade war? The Effects of Increased Tariffs - In the 18th...more
Last December, President Barack Obama announced a series of changes to the United States’ policy toward Cuba. The most significant changes, from a foreign policy perspective, included restoring diplomatic relations with Cuba...more
With the imposition of billion-dollar fines against large financial institutions, the U.S. Department of Justice ("DOJ") is focusing on banks for not only failing to comply with federal laws, but also for willfully violating...more
On June 30, 2014, BNP Paribas SA (“BNPP”), the largest bank in France, pled guilty to conspiring to violate U.S. sanctions laws and agreed to pay a total of nearly $8.9 billion in criminal forfeiture and penalties to the U.S....more
On November 26, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Securities and Exchange Commission announced an agreement with three subsidiaries of Swiss oil services company Weatherford International Ltd. to settle Foreign Corrupt...more