Episode 324 -- Third-Party Risks and Sanctions Compliance
FINCast Ep. 39 – State of Russia Sanctions Two Years After the Invasion
Understanding the Additional Risks When Making a Ransomware Payment
Looking The Other Way: Recent Cases Of AML And Sanctions Failings In Scandinavia
Episode 118 -- Update on OFAC Enforcement and Lessons Learned
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) has released a $7.45 million penalty against State Street Bank and Trust Company and its non-bank, fintech subsidiary Charles River Systems for...more
In this new era of aggressive sanctions enforcement, companies have to understand the red lines that define where criminal and civil enforcement risk increase. In contrast to the history of FCPA enforcement, DOJ and OFAC...more
President Biden last month signed into law H.R. 815 (“National Security Supplemental” or “NSS”). The NSS—a package of national security and foreign aid appropriations, including for efforts in Israel, Ukraine, and the...more
In this new aggressive era of sanctions and export controls enforcement, companies need to understand the potential risks that DOJ and/or OFAC may identify a company for sanctions investigation....more
On April 24, 2024, President Joe Biden signed into law HR 815, which primarily provides supplemental emergency appropriations relating to ongoing conflicts in Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. Although principally focused on an...more
On March 7, 2024, the US Department of Justice’s National Security Division (NSD) released a revised Voluntary Self-Disclosure (VSD) Policy (the “VSD Policy”). The VSD Policy substantially tracks the language of the previous...more
The U.S., EU and UK have imposed significant new sanctions and are stepping up enforcement against sanctions evaders on the second anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. On February 23, 2024, the U.S....more
As we have repeatedly noted in the context of other blog posts and webinars in which various representatives of The Volkov Law Group have participated, the violation of existing U.S. sanctions and export control regulations...more
On September 26, 2023, in response to the escalating crisis in Ukraine resulting from Russian aggression, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States (the “Export Enforcement Five” or “E5”)...more
Earlier this month, John Can Unsalan, the president of a steel-making company with ties to Russian oligarchs, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, based on financial transactions committed with...more
Emigrant Bank (“Emigrant”), a U.S.-based financial institution that bills itself as the oldest bank in New York City, is the latest sanctions violator to be swept up in OFAC’s ongoing enforcement push. On September 21, OFAC...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
The Justice Department has touted the upcoming wave of corporate prosecutions for criminal sanctions violation as the era of “The New FCPA.” DOJ’s reference is intended to communicate a strong message – companies are going to...more
For financial institutions and businesses that are subject to the oversight of the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), compliance needs to be a priority in 2023. OFAC is playing an increasingly active role in overseeing...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
In another significant step notifying global businesses of the new realities – companies are about to face aggressive coordinated criminal and civil prosecutions for sanctions and export control violations. The last piece in...more
Over an eight-year period ending in 2018, Murad, a U.S. cosmetics company, illegally exported goods and services to Iran in 62 separate transactions worth approximately $11 million. Murad was acquired by Unilever United...more
The U.S Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) recently announced settlements with a California-based cosmetics company and a former senior company executive to resolve potential civil liability...more
I am sticking with my 2023 prediction – DOJ is committed to aggressive enforcement of the Russia sanctions. Most of its efforts to date have been directed against Russian Oligarchs and significant evaders who are moving...more
As the U.S. and the European Union continue to impose new sanctions on Russia in response to the invasion of Ukraine, regulatory authorities continue their pursuit of companies and individuals who violate those sanctions. The...more
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern Direct of New York recently announced the indictment of Jack Hanick, a United States citizen, of violating the U.S. sanctions against Russia and false statements in connection with...more
Civil and criminal penalties levied against U.S. companies for trade violations are just the beginning of the potential unforeseen costs of doing business in the global marketplace. What cannot be quantified are the countless...more
OFAC is off to a quick start in 2022. After announcing its Airbnb enforcement action in the beginning of January, OFAC announced a settlement with Sojitz (Hong Kong) Limited, a Hong Kong, China-based company that engages in...more
Alliance Steel, a US company based in Oklahoma, agreed to pay $435,003 to OFAC to settle violations of the Iran Sanctions Program. Alliance Steel is a designer and manufacturer of prefabricated steel structures....more
UniControl, Inc., a Cleveland, Ohio manufacturer of process controls, airflow pressure switches, boiler controls and other instruments, agreed to pay OFAC $216,464 to settle its liabilities for violation of the Iran Sanctions...more