The New Cold War: Risk, Sanctions, Compliance Episode 22: "Focus on Iran: Protests, Sanctions and Oil"
EMBARGOED! Episode 43: Russia and Iran and China, Oh My!
Washington Post Journalist Jason Rezaian on His Iranian Imprisonment
Nota Bene Episode 64: U.S. Check In: Prescription Drugs, USMCA, Privacy, Impeachment and Iran with Elizabeth Frazee and Jonathan Meyer
As the third month of the second Trump administration comes to a close, the lack of any public enforcement action by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has sanctions watchers...more
On February 24, the two-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Biden administration issued hundreds of new Russia-related export controls and sanctions. The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and the...more
When it comes to OFAC sanctions violations, honesty is the best policy. Promptly and voluntarily disclosing violations upon their discovery can pay serious dividends. ...more
The past few weeks have not been kind to 3M. The company recently settled with the SEC for $6.5 million to resolve alleged FCPA violations related to its Chinese subsidiary’s dealings with Chinese state-owned healthcare...more
Construction Specialties, Inc. (“CSI”), a U.S. company specializing in the sale of building materials, agreed to pay $660,594 to settle its liability for three violations of OFAC’s sanctions on Iran. CSI’s illegal conduct...more
Cryptocurrency companies are in trouble. Regulators are bearing down on crypto companies with the Eye of Sauron – pulling the crypto companies into their jurisdiction, prosecuting fraud cases, and aggressively prosecuting...more
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
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
The Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) in U.S. Department of Commerce has added 34 more companies to its Entity List in its continued expansion of U.S. export controls to address human rights in the Xinjiang Uyghur...more
It seems almost every day there are reports of new developments under the U.S. sanctions laws. Yet many U.S. companies do not understand the significance of these laws....more
Indictment Alleges that Bank and its Officers Used Front Companies to Evade Prohibitions on Iran’s Access to the U.S. Financial System - The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York has charged Turkish state-owned...more
On May 8, 2019, following Iran's announcement that it intends to suspend certain nuclear proliferation-related commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the United States issued a new Executive order...more
Stepping outside of SWIFT - Since its inception more than a decade ago, cryptocurrency has been viewed as a way to supplant traditional global methods of exchanging money. Today, as virtual currencies proliferate,...more
U.S. Developments - Kik Publicizes Response to Possible SEC Enforcement - On January 27, the Wall Street Journal published an article describing the impending legal battle over cryptocurrency Kin and its 2017 ICO. That...more
• As of November 5, 2018, the United States concluded the second of two wind-down periods for re-imposition of U.S. sanctions on Iran following the May 8, 2018, announcement that the United States would cease participation in...more
• On October 11, 2018, FinCEN released an advisory to help U.S. financial institutions better detect potentially illicit transactions related to Iran. • The advisory describes how Iran attempts to access the international...more
International sanctions are a major compliance challenge for companies worldwide. The regulatory risks associated with economic sanctions, asset-freezing measures and trade embargoes are not new, but they continue to grow in...more
Following the U.S. decision to withdraw from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and reimpose sanctions on Iran, the EU has confirmed its full commitment to keep the agreement alive for the remaining parties, as...more
U.S. embargoes and economic sanctions on countries such as Iran, Russia and Cuba were discussed at length by both candidates during the 2016 Presidential campaign, and President-Elect Trump has stated that he intended to...more
Over the past year, the big news for companies doing or considering business in Iran has been the scaling back of U.S. and EU economic sanctions. Many global businesses are now permitted to operate in this once prohibited...more
On July 14, 2015, after two years of sometimes intense negotiations, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Russia, and China (known as the “P5+1” countries), along with the European Union, signed a Joint...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