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
OFAC is getting ready for a big year. While managing a comprehensive set of sanctions against the Russian Federation in response to its Invasion of Ukraine, OFAC has demonstrated its ability to maintain aggressive...more
February saw a continuing focus on Russia. First, the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), in conjunction with the State Department, sanctioned over 500 individuals and entities – the “largest number...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
For U.S. businesses, sanctions compliance has never been more challenging or more important. The U.S. has responded to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine with a broad range of sanctions targeting the Russian government, its...more
On 22 December 2023, the Biden administration issued Executive Order 14114, “Taking Additional Steps with Respect to the Russian Federation’s Harmful Activities” (EO 14114), thereby amending EOs 14024 and 14068. The new EO...more
On 6 November 2023, the Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network and the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security issued a joint notice concerning a new Suspicious Activity Report key...more
Over the last several months, companies have become entangled in an increasingly complex web of new and expanded sanctions and export control restrictions related to Russia in response to its war on Ukraine. The current...more
Tornado Cash, a cryptocurrency mixer, recently suffered two major setbacks in federal regulatory efforts to block its use and prosecute its founders. First, a federal district court threw out a lawsuit challenging the...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
Under the U.S. Export Administration Regulations (EAR), Part 736 General Prohibition #5 (EAR 736.5) imposes restrictions on certain activities related to exports, reexports, and transfers (in-country) of items subject to the...more
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has oversight of financial transactions involving U.S. and foreign entities. It exercises this authority in several ways, including (i) through the administration of its various...more
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has played an increasingly important role in the federal government’s national security efforts in recent years. As transactions funding terrorist activities, criminal enterprises,...more
Company executives and stakeholders in charge of making decisions to insulate their business from legal liability by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) at the U.S. Department of Treasury have a difficult choice to...more
Microsoft’s remedial steps provide important best-practices for companies facing similar risk factors in the global economy, especially for global software companies that rely on Internet-based operations....more
OFAC announced only one settlement in the first three months of 2023. Given its ongoing role in the implementation and enforcement of Russia Sanctions, OFAC’s enforcement record so far is completely understandable. The...more
As we have noted on numerous occasions, the U.S. Russia Sanctions and Export Control Program is unprecedented and a compliance challenge for all organizations. In another unprecedented action, the Justice Department and the...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
The Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) issued a finding of violation (“FoV”) to Nodus International Bank, Inc. (“Nodus”), located in Puerto Rico, for violation of Venezuelan Sanctions. Nordus...more
In a significant action, the Justice Department brought criminal charges against the notorious Russian Oligarch, Oleg Deripaska, for sanctions evasion and obstruction of justice. DOJ also charged three associates, Natalya...more
Some may dismiss OFAC’s recent announcement last week that it issued a Finding of Violation to MidFirst Bank for violations of the Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferators sanctions regulations as insignificant because OFAC...more
Two recent OFAC enforcement actions highlight real-world challenges that financial institutions and other companies may face in their efforts to implement an effective sanctions compliance program....more
Since its last enforcement action against Banco Popular in late May, OFAC has been quiet on the enforcement front. Notwithstanding its silence, OFAC has been managing a robust and complex coordinated economic sanctions...more
Ken Fishkin talks to Doreen M. Edelman and Christian C. Contardo of the firm’s Global Trade & National Security practice, about ransomware and the risks of making payments when data is held for ransom, such as exposure to...more
On May 27, OFAC announced a civil settlement with a Puerto Rico-based bank in connection with apparent violations of the Venezuela Sanctions Regulations. While the settlement amount of $255,938 is a fraction of the...more
The Bass, Berry & Sims international trade team is actively monitoring the situation in Russia and Ukraine and providing real-time advice to clients on managing the situation. This post summarizes new U.S. sanctions and...more