On 26 April 2021, the UK’s first sanctions under the Global Anti-Corruption Sanctions Regulations 2021 (SI 2021/488) (“the Regulations”) came into force. The Regulations are made under the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering...more
On August 11, 2020, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued a new guidance document, the Sudan Program and Darfur Sanctions Guidance (“Sudan Guidance”), which clarifies the current...more
In an increasingly integrated global economy, and as businesses shift to online sales and a broader client base, it is important to have a clear understanding of, among other things, the U.S. sanctions in place, and the...more
Sanctions: Will the Trump Administration Stay the Course? President Trump made many statements during the campaign regarding actions he plans to take to reverse Obama administration sanctions policies. These included...more
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the U.S. Department of Treasury has issued several significant updates to various sanctions programs over the last several weeks. Beginning during President Barack Obama’s last...more
On January 13, 2017, President Obama signed the Executive Order “Recognizing Positive Actions by the Government of Sudan and Providing for the Revocation of Certain Sudan-Related Sanctions” that revoked many U.S. economic...more
On January 13, 2017, the White House issued an executive order revoking significant aspects of the sanctions in place against Sudan (that have been in effect since 1997). In conjunction with the announcement, the Treasury...more
On January 13, 2017, President Barack Obama signed an Executive Order (the “Sudan Executive Order”) that will effectively revoke, after six months (i.e., on July 12, 2017), the U.S. trade embargo against Sudan, provided the...more
On January 13, 2017, President Obama signed Executive Order 13761 (“E.O. 13761”), “Recognizing Positive Actions by the Government of Sudan and Providing for the Revocation of Certain Sudan-Related Sanctions.” Effective July...more
On Jan. 13, 2017, President Barack Obama signed Executive Order 13761 (the Executive Order) authorizing the lifting of portions of the United States’ trade and financial sanctions on Sudan. The action is the result of...more
On January 13, 2017, the Treasury Department, citing an executive order issued by President Obama on the same day, announced the issuance of a general license, effectively lifting most sanctions against Sudan. The general...more
Effective January 17, 2017, a new general license authorizes a broad range of activities previously prohibited under the Sudanese Sanctions Regulations (SSR), including most transactions with individuals and entities in Sudan...more
On January 13, 2017, the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued a Final Rule, announcing that it would amend the Sudanese Sanctions Regulations to authorize all transactions previously...more
It’s Friday and time for another overview of developments in the field of business and human rights that we’ve been monitoring. This week’s post includes: updates on litigation in the Doe v. Nestle case; a private...more
Overview of US and EU Trade Sanctions - Following is a summary of the current US and EU sanctions that restrict trade with and/or investment in certain countries, “Specially Designated Nationals” (SDNs) and “Blocked...more
As if to provide a not-too-subtle reminder to insurers of the applicability of U.S. trade sanctions to their businesses, the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) announced on August 6, that a New...more
The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced that Navigators Insurance Company, which is headquartered in New York and specializes in marine insurance and related lines of business,...more
On June 8, attorneys for the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) joined Dutch aerospace company Fokker Services BV (“Fokker”) in appealing the district court’s rejection of Fokker’s deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) with the...more
Increased anti-money laundering (AML) regulation enforcement by federal and state agencies in recent months should have financial institutions across the country reviewing and strengthening their in-house AML policies and...more
Last week, U.S. authorities settled criminal charges against a subsidiary of Schlumberger Ltd. and civil claims against PayPal, Inc. Federal authorities alleged that these companies violated U.S. embargoes and other economic...more
On March 12, 2015, Commerzbank AG, Germany’s second largest bank and a global financial institution, agreed to pay $1.45 Billion (yes, with a “B”) in forfeitures and fines to the U.S. Government for violating U.S. sanctions...more
The U.S. Government announced two major sanctions enforcement actions this week that reinforce the compliance challenges faced by both U.S. companies with international activities and non-U.S. companies subject to U.S....more
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) posted a summary of a settlement with a bank (the “Bank”) relating to a transaction that OFAC alleged was processed by the Bank in violation of OFAC’s Sudanese Sanctions...more
We frequently discuss enforcement actions in this blog, because understanding enforcement is a key aspect of trade compliance. From a fifty-thousand foot view, each enforcement case serves as a cautionary tale about the...more
Welcome to the May 2014 edition of Red Notice, a publication of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP. This month, on the anticorruption front, Avon Products, Inc. (“Avon”) agrees to pay USD $135 million to settle a...more