Today, OFAC issued General License 14, authorizing U.S. persons to engage in specified transactions related to maintenance or wind down of operations, contracts or other agreements involving RUSAL until October 23, 2018,...more
• The United States Department of Commerce announced the denial of export privileges against Zhongxing Telecommunications Equipment Corporation and ZTE Kangxun Telecommunications Ltd. (collectively, ZTE) on April 16, 2018....more
4/20/2018
/ Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
China ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Entity List ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
False Statements ,
Settlement Negotiations ,
Telecommunications ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
ZTE
On April 6, 2018, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned a number of Russian businessmen and companies, as well as Russian government officials and two state-owned entities. The...more
• On April 6, 2018, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) placed seven prominent Russian businessmen, 12 companies, 17 senior Russian government officials, and a state-owned Russian...more
4/9/2018
/ Banking Sector ,
Blocked Person ,
CAATSA ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Executive Orders ,
Financial Institutions ,
General Licenses ,
Government Officials ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Russia ,
SDN List ,
State-Owned Enterprises ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Treasury
In an important decision given on February 21, 2018, a jury in English court proceedings has considered for the first time what “adequate procedures” should be for the purpose of a defense to the corporate offense of failing...more
3/13/2018
/ Anti-Bribery ,
Bribery ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Liability ,
Criminal Convictions ,
Criminal Liability ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Jury Verdicts ,
National Crime Agency (NCA) ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Section 7 ,
Self-Reporting ,
UK ,
UK Bribery Act
On January 12, 2018, the U.S. administration took three actions relating to Iran -
• First, President Trump waived again the application of certain nuclear sanctions while making clear that the United States will refuse to...more
• The voluntary disclosure of a Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) violation, “full cooperation” in an ensuing investigation, and timely and appropriate remediation, will create a presumption that the disclosing company...more
12/4/2017
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Attorney General ,
Cooperation ,
Corporate Fines ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disgorgement ,
Federal Pilot Programs ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Forfeiture ,
Memorandum of Guidance ,
Remediation ,
Restitution ,
Self-Reporting ,
Substantial Aggravating Circumstances ,
Voluntary Disclosure
• Effective October 13, 2017, President Trump declined to provide certification that the JCPOA is in the United States’ national interest. Following this “decertification,” the U.S. Congress has 60 days in which to introduce...more
11/2/2017
/ Anti-Terrorism Financing ,
Decertify ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Policy ,
Foreign Relations ,
Iran ,
Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015 (INARA) ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) ,
Legislative Amendments ,
Members of Congress ,
Nuclear Weapons ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Proposed Legislation ,
SDN List ,
Sunset Provisions ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Treasury
• On October 27, 2017, the U.S. State Department issued guidance identifying 39 entities related to the defense and intelligence sectors of the Government of the Russian Federation and issued related guidance on criteria to...more
10/31/2017
/ Defense Sector ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Export-Import Bank of the US ,
Exports ,
Extraterritoriality Rules ,
Financial Institutions ,
Foreign Exchanges ,
National Intelligence Agencies ,
New Guidance ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Russia ,
Secretary of the Treasury ,
State-Owned Enterprises ,
Trump Administration ,
US State Departments
Based on certain State Department findings, effective October 12, 2017, long-standing U.S. sanctions on the Republic of Sudan administered by OFAC under the Sudan Sanctions Regulations will be terminated, and U.S. persons...more
10/13/2017
/ Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Commerce Control List ,
Commodities ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Executive Orders ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Exports ,
General Licenses ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
SDN List ,
Secretary of State ,
Sudan ,
Trade Restrictions ,
Trump Administration ,
TSRA
On September 29, 2017, OFAC modified Directives 1 and 2 of Executive Order 13662 to reduce the permissible maturity for new debt issued by Russian financial and energy entities designated under these directives, as well as...more
10/5/2017
/ Banking Sector ,
Cybersecurity ,
Debt ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Energy Sector ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Financial Institutions (FFI) ,
Foreign Relations ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Presidential Directives ,
Russia ,
Trump Administration ,
Ukraine
On September 21, 2017, the White House announced additional sanctions against North Korea, following a new round of sanctions imposed by the United Nations on September 11 and an escalation of U.S. sanctions previously...more
9/26/2017
/ Aircraft ,
Anti-Terrorism Financing ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Executive Orders ,
Exports ,
Foreign Financial Institutions (FFI) ,
Foreign Relations ,
Fund Transfers ,
North Korea ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Secretary of State ,
Secretary of the Treasury ,
Trade Restrictions ,
Trump Administration ,
Vessels
On August 25, 2017, President Trump issued an Executive Order (EO) imposing economic sanctions related to Venezuela. The new measures prohibit U.S. persons from engaging in certain debt-, equity-, and securities-related...more
8/31/2017
/ Agricultural Sector ,
Blocked Person ,
Bonds ,
Citgo ,
Debt-Equity ,
Dividends ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Executive Orders ,
General Licenses ,
Medical Devices ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Patented Medicines ,
SDN List ,
Securities Transactions ,
Trump Administration ,
Venezuela
• This enforcement action highlights the heightened sanctions compliance and enforcement risk that companies face when engaging third-party consultants to perform due diligence on counterparties. U.S. persons must make clear...more
8/28/2017
/ Due Diligence ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
General Licenses ,
Imports ,
IPSA ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
ITSR ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Sanction Violations ,
Settlement
On July 27, 2017, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced the civil settlement with CSE TransTel Pte. Ltd. (“TransTel”) and CSE Global Limited (“CSE Global”) in the amount of...more
8/12/2017
/ Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Transactions ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Jurisdiction ,
Non-US Entities ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Penalties ,
Sanction Violations ,
SDN List ,
Section 203 ,
Settlement
On August 2, 2017, President Trump signed into law the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act of 2017 (Pub. Law. No. 115-44, H.R. 3364) (the “Act”), which significantly expands economic sanctions against...more
8/9/2017
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Anti-Terrorism Financing ,
Arms Embargo ,
Congressional Override ,
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 ,
Trade Restrictions ,
Trump Administration
On Wednesday, July 27, 2017, the U.S. Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) announced a $110 million fine levied against BTC-e, a digital currency exchange, for
BTC-e’s alleged refusal to abide by...more
8/3/2017
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Arrest ,
Bitcoin ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Currency Exchange ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Currency ,
Enforcement Actions ,
FinCEN ,
Fines ,
Indictments ,
Money Services Business ,
Non-US Entities ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Russia ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) ,
U.S. Treasury
On June 16, 2017, the Trump administration issued a national security presidential memorandum entitled “Strengthening the Policy of the United States Towards Cuba” (the “Presidential Memorandum”). Related to this...more
6/21/2017
/ Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Business Licenses ,
Cuba ,
Department of Transportation (DOT) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Financial Transactions ,
Internet ,
Obama Administration ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Presidential Memorandum ,
Tourism ,
Travel Restrictions ,
Trump Administration
On February 27, 2017, FinCEN announced a $7 million civil monetary penalty against Merchants for willful violations of the BSA. Additionally, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Merchants’ federal functional...more
3/2/2017
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Banks ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Compliance ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Customer Due Diligence (CDD) ,
Due Diligence ,
Enforcement Actions ,
FinCEN ,
Money Services Business ,
MSB ,
OCC ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements
Key Points -
- The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control has added 25 new entities and individuals to its Specially Designated Nationals List, including some located in China, Lebanon,...more
On February 2, 2017, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued Cyber-related General License (GL) 1, a general license that authorizes certain transactions with Russia’s Federal...more
Key Points -
- Effective today, a new general license reverses two decades of U.S. policy by authorizing all transactions otherwise prohibited by the Sudanese Sanctions Regulations (SSR), including all transactions...more
Key Points -
- This action marks the first time sanctions have been imposed under the Cybersecurity Sanctions Program established on April 1, 2015, with the designation of nine entities and individuals.
-...more
1/5/2017
/ Barack Obama ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Cybersecurity ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Executive Orders ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
FBI ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Russia ,
Sanctions ,
SDN List ,
U.S. Commerce Department
On December 23, 2016, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued a Final Rule amending the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations, 31 C.F.R. Part 560 (ITSR) to expand the...more
On October 7, 2016, the Integrity Vice President (INT) of the World Bank Group (the “Bank”) released its annual report for fiscal year 2016 (the “Report”). In the Report, INT provides insight into the Bank’s efforts to combat...more