On September 11, 2024, OFAC announced its Interim Final Rule to Extend Recordkeeping Requirements from Five to 10 Years. The Interim Final Rule (IFR) was published in the Federal Register on September 13, 2024. Public...more
9/16/2024
/ CFIUS ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Cuba ,
Export Controls ,
Interim Final Rules (IFR) ,
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) ,
National Security ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
OMB ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
TWEA
On June 12, 2024, the United States took several hard-hitting sanctions- and export control-related actions intended to intensify pressure on the Russian government and hamper Russia’s ability to continue to support its war...more
6/19/2024
/ Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
Foreign Financial Institutions (FFI) ,
General Licenses ,
Information Technology ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Russia ,
Secondary Sanctions ,
Software ,
Supply Chain ,
U.S. Commerce Department
On April 24, 2024, President Biden signed into law a long-debated $98 billion foreign aid and national security legislative package (the “Act”) providing funds for Israel, Taiwan, and Ukraine, and authorizing new sanctions...more
4/30/2024
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Cybersecurity ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Drug Trafficking ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Foreign Aid ,
Hamas ,
Harmonization Rules ,
Human Rights ,
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) ,
Israel ,
Joe Biden ,
National Security ,
NDAA ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
Taiwan ,
Terrorist Acts ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Ukraine
On March 14, 2024, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced its first enforcement case of the year and its first ever involving dealings with a Russian designated for sanctions...more
3/25/2024
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Cuban Assets Control Regulations (CACR) ,
Due Diligence ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement ,
Executive Orders ,
Export Controls ,
Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Sanctions Regulations (FNKSR) ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Risk Assessment ,
Russia ,
Securities Transactions ,
U.S. Treasury
On March 6, 2024, the U.S. Departments of Commerce, Justice, and the Treasury issued a Tri-Seal Compliance Note (Compliance Note) stressing the need for non-U.S. persons to comply with U.S. sanctions and export controls. The...more
Today’s alert—the second in our Sanctions 2023 Year in Review Series—provides an overview of U.S. sanctions enforcement in 2023, including the key lessons learned from the public enforcement actions issued by the U.S....more
3/5/2024
/ Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
CFTC ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
FinCEN ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Russia ,
Sanction Violations ,
SDN List ,
Technology ,
Ukraine ,
Virtual Currency ,
Whistleblowers
2023 was another record year for U.S. sanctions and the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). Most prominently, OFAC continued to impose significant additional sanctions on Russia in...more
3/4/2024
/ China ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Cybersecurity ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Drug Trafficking ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Hamas ,
Human Rights ,
National Security ,
NDAA ,
Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Russia ,
Terrorist Acts ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Ukraine ,
US State Departments ,
Venezuela ,
Virtual Currency
After two years of aggressive sanctions against Russia for its ongoing war in Ukraine, the United States has broadly expanded those sanctions to threaten foreign financial institutions (FFIs) that support Russia’s...more
Today’s alert—the third and final installment in our Sanctions 2022 Year in Review series—provides an overview of U.S. sanctions enforcement in 2022, including the key lessons learned from the enforcement actions issued by...more
As Russia’s war in Ukraine passes the one-year mark, and the battles on the ground move forward with escalating levels of ferocity, governments around the world continue to coordinate and respond with increasingly severe...more
3/3/2023
/ Asset Freeze ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Central Bank of Russia ,
Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
Export Controls ,
Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
Russia ,
UK ,
Ukraine
2022 was an unprecedented year for U.S. sanctions and the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). While the sweeping new U.S. sanctions imposed against Russia and Belarus in unparalleled...more
3/2/2023
/ Burma ,
China ,
Drug Trafficking ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Human Rights ,
Iran ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Russia ,
UN Security Council ,
United Nations ,
Venezuela ,
Virtual Currency
After months of negotiations, Congress revealed the compromise version of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 (NDAA) on December 6, 2022. The bill, viewed as a “must-pass” piece of legislation because...more
12/15/2022
/ Burma ,
China ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Drug Trafficking ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Export Controls ,
Financial Institutions ,
Foreign Investment ,
Human Rights ,
Iran ,
NDAA ,
Popular ,
Russia ,
Semiconductors ,
Supply Chain
As Russia’s war in Ukraine stretches into its tenth month, governments around the world continue to coordinate and respond with increasingly severe sanctions and export controls....more
12/7/2022
/ Crude Oil ,
Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
Export Controls ,
Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Oil & Gas ,
Oil Prices ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Russia ,
UK ,
Ukraine
As Russia’s bloody invasion of Ukraine nears the end of its second month, with regular reports of human rights violations, possible chemical weapons attacks, and head of state musings regarding whether this campaign amounts...more
4/18/2022
/ Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
Export Controls ,
Financial Markets ,
Foreign Relations ,
Japan ,
Most-Favored Nations ,
Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
Russia ,
Trade Relations ,
UK ,
Ukraine
As Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine stretches on into its second month, the United States, European Union, United Kingdom, and other global allies have continued to pour additional funding and arms into Ukraine while...more
3/23/2022
/ Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
Export Controls ,
Funding ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Russia ,
SWIFT ,
UK ,
Ukraine ,
US Department of State
After less than a week of a full-scale war between Russia and Ukraine, the post-Cold War global architecture appears irrevocably shattered, as Western nations line up to offer support and military and economic aid to Ukraine...more
3/1/2022
/ Airspace ,
Asset Freeze ,
Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
G7 ,
Popular ,
Russia ,
SWIFT ,
UK ,
Ukraine ,
United States
Back in July, we took a look at the enforcement actions for the first half of 2021 issued by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). Today’s post – the second half of our OFAC 2021 Year...more
2/9/2022
/ Cloud Storage ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Digital Currency ,
Foreign Exchanges ,
Foreign Subsidiaries ,
Geolocation ,
Know Your Customers ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
Sanctions ,
SDN List ,
U.S. Treasury ,
UK ,
Virtual Currency
2021 was a year of transition in the United States and for the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). OFAC’s year, while busy, was far different from 2020, as the Biden Administration’s...more
2/8/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Burma ,
China ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Forced Labor ,
Hong Kong ,
Hong Kong Autonomy Act (HKAA) ,
Iran ,
NDAA ,
NGOs ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
Russia ,
SDN List ,
U.S. Treasury
In response to Russia’s increasingly aggressive troop build-up on the Ukrainian border and the lack of progress of negotiations between Russia and the United States, Democrats and Republicans in Congress appear united in...more
In a closely followed and much anticipated action, President Biden signed the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 (NDAA) on December 27, 2021 – following its approval by the U.S. Senate and House of...more
As we approach year’s end, and the pace of legislative activity ramps up, it remains critical to keep a close eye on the sanctions-related bills currently making their way, at varying speeds, through the U.S. legislative...more
11/9/2021
/ China ,
Corruption ,
Forced Labor ,
Foreign Policy ,
Iran ,
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) ,
NDAA ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
Russia ,
Sanctions ,
SDN List ,
U.S. Treasury
On October 18, 2021, the U.S. Department of the Treasury (“Treasury”) released its 2021 Sanctions Review (“Sanctions Review” or the “Review”), which includes recommendations for preserving the effectiveness of sanctions...more
In the latest turn of events in the seemingly never-ending political saga of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, the U.S. House of Representatives (the “House”), via an amendment to the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act...more
10/7/2021
/ CAATSA ,
Foreign Entities ,
Germany ,
Joe Biden ,
National Interest Waiver ,
NDAA ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Pipelines ,
Russia ,
Sanctions ,
Trump Administration ,
US State Departments
As peak summer holiday season approaches, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) continues to remind the private sector of the importance of strict economic sanctions compliance. OFAC...more
7/15/2021
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Currency ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Exchanges ,
ITSR ,
Moneygram ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
U.S. Treasury
On June 3, 2021, President Biden issued a new executive order (E.O.), “Addressing the Threat from Securities Investments that Finance Certain Companies of the People’s Republic of China” (E.O. 14032). The E.O. prohibits U.S....more