The United States, United Kingdom and the European Union, among other allies, have moved swiftly in response to the Russian Federation’s invasion of Ukraine. Merely hours after Russia’s announcement on February 21, 2022, that...more
The European Union Blocking Statute was originally adopted in 1996 to counteract US sanctions on Cuba, Iran and Libya, but following a memorandum of understanding entered into between the EU and the US, it has seldom been...more
On October 15, 2021, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued detailed guidance to the virtual currency industry, putting virtual currency companies on notice of the ways OFAC...more
In response to the February 1, 2021, military coup in Burma (Myanmar), on February 10, 2021, President Joe Biden issued Executive Order 14014 (EO 14014), “Executive Order on Blocking Property With Respect to the Situation in...more
In light of Turkey’s military intervention in northeast Syria, President Donald Trump issued, on October 14, 2019, Executive Order 13894 (EO 13894), “Blocking Property and Suspending Entry of Certain Persons Contributing to...more
10/21/2019
/ Blocked Person ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Financial Institutions (FFI) ,
General Licenses ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
SDN List ,
Secondary Sanctions ,
Steel Industry ,
Syria ,
Tariffs ,
Trump Administration ,
Turkey
In 2018, the United States continued to expand its sanctions programs and increase enforcement. While President Donald Trump’s decision to re-impose nuclear-related sanctions on Iran has perhaps drawn the most attention, key...more
1/23/2019
/ Blocked Entities ,
Blocked Person ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cuba ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Policy ,
General Licenses ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) ,
Nicaragua ,
Nuclear Power ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Russia ,
Sanction Violations ,
SDN List ,
Secondary Sanctions ,
Trump Administration ,
Venezuela ,
Withdrawal
On November 5, 2018, the United States reimposed all remaining nuclear-related sanctions against Iran that it had previously lifted in connection with its implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in...more
11/13/2018
/ Cross-Border Transactions ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Executive Orders ,
Financial Institutions ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
ITSR ,
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) ,
Nuclear Power ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Oil & Gas ,
SDN List ,
Secondary Sanctions ,
Trump Administration ,
Winding Down ,
Withdrawal
On May 8, 2018, President Donald Trump announced that the United States was withdrawing from its participation in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the agreement the P5+1 (the United States, China, France,...more
5/15/2018
/ Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
General Licenses ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) ,
New Guidance ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Oil & Gas ,
Presidential Memorandum ,
Rescission ,
SDN List ,
Secondary Sanctions ,
Trump Administration ,
Winding Down
On April 6, 2018, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced sanctions against seven Russian oligarchs, 12 companies owned or controlled by these oligarchs, 17 senior Russian government...more
4/13/2018
/ Blocked Person ,
CAATSA ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Executive Orders ,
General Licenses ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Russia ,
SDN List ,
Secondary Sanctions ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Ukraine
In recent weeks, the U.S. government has taken a number of significant steps to implement sanctions on Russia under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), which President Donald Trump signed into...more
11/9/2017
/ Banking Sector ,
CAATSA ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Energy Exploration ,
Energy Sector ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Offshore Drilling ,
Pipelines ,
Russia ,
SDN List ,
Section 232 ,
Trump Administration ,
Ukraine ,
US State Departments
On August 25, 2017, the U.S. government dramatically increased sanctions on the government of Venezuela. Unlike the Venezuela-related sanctions already in effect, which are list-based and to date have targeted only specific...more
8/31/2017
/ Blocked Person ,
Bonds ,
Capital Markets ,
Citgo ,
Debt-Equity ,
Dividends ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Executive Orders ,
General Licenses ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
SDN List ,
Securities Transactions ,
State-Owned Enterprises ,
Trump Administration ,
Venezuela
On August 2, 2017, President Donald Trump signed into law the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (the Act), which significantly expands U.S. sanctions against Russia while enacting modest new sanctions on...more
8/7/2017
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Anti-Terrorism Financing ,
Arms Embargo ,
Congressional Override ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Cyber Sanctions ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Executive Orders ,
Exports ,
Foreign Financial Institutions (FFI) ,
Foreign Relations ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) ,
North Korea ,
Oil & Gas ,
Pipelines ,
Privatization ,
Russia ,
SDN List ,
SSI List ,
State-Owned Enterprises ,
Syria ,
Trump Administration
On December 22, 2016, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced amendments to the general license (GL) that authorizes the export or re-export of certain medical devices to Iran....more
After nearly two decades, the United States has formally ended economic sanctions on Burma (Myanmar). Citing substantial efforts undertaken to promote democracy, President Barack Obama issued an executive order, on October 7,...more
10/15/2016
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Barack Obama ,
Burma ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Executive Orders ,
Financial Transactions ,
FinCEN ,
Foreign Investment ,
Imports ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Patriot Act ,
SDN List ,
US Department of State
In response to Burma’s peaceful and competitive elections in November 2015, on May 18, 2016, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) further eased U.S. sanctions against Burma (Myanmar). These...more
5/24/2016
/ Burma ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Exports ,
Financial Institutions ,
Foreign Investment ,
General Licenses ,
Myanmar ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
SDN List ,
State-Owned Enterprises
On January 16, 2016, the International Atomic Energy Agency verified that Iran had complied with the nuclear-related technical aspects of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action it had to complete before the first phase of...more
1/28/2016
/ Banking Sector ,
Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
Foreign Entities ,
IAEA ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) ,
Nuclear Weapons ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Oil & Gas ,
SDN List
Editor’s note: This article includes news developments through January 18, 2016.
The historic agreement that the P5+1 (the United States, the United Kingdom, France, China, Russia and Germany) and the European Union...more
Editor’s note: This article was updated on July 23, 2015, to Editor’s note: This article was updated on July 23, 2015, to reflect certain additional information in U.N. Security Council Resolution 2231.
On July 14, 2015,...more
7/21/2015
/ Aircraft ,
Aircraft Equipment ,
Automotive Industry ,
Banks ,
Crude Oil ,
Energy Sector ,
EU ,
Financial Institutions ,
Implementation Day ,
Imports ,
International Atomic Energy Agency ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) ,
Metals ,
Non-US Entities ,
Nuclear Power ,
Nuclear Weapons ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
P5+1 Nations ,
SDN List ,
Shipping ,
Software ,
Transition Day ,
United Nations
On April 1, 2015, President Barack Obama issued an executive order (the Order) authorizing sanctions against foreign individuals or entities found to be responsible for certain malicious cyberattacks. Under the Order, the...more
In response to the protracted crisis in Ukraine, the Obama administration authorized traditional and innovative economic sanctions against Russian and Ukrainian persons through Executive Orders 13660, 13661, 13662 and 13685....more