The Justice Insiders Podcast - The Ever-Expanding Net: Corporate Compliance in an Era of Increasing Trade Sanctions and Restrictions
Understanding the Additional Risks When Making a Ransomware Payment
WorldSmart: The Extraordinary Sanctions Against Russia - What Happens Next?
BSA, OFAC, KYC, and CIP – What do they mean to me? [More with McGlinchey, Ep. 29]
Compliance Perspectives: Sanctions, Data and Vetting Third Parties
FINCast Ep. 19 - The DPRK Sanctions Program
Episode 118 -- Update on OFAC Enforcement and Lessons Learned
On January 20, 2025, President Donald J. Trump signed Executive Order 14157, “Designating Cartels and Other Organizations as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and Specially Designated Global Terrorists” (EO 14157)....more
On 21 March 2025, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) removed Tornado Cash, a virtual currency mixer, from its list of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN List),...more
The U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control issued a formal guidance letter stating that certain kinds of Specially Designated Nationals could speak at a public conference to share their individual...more
We find ourselves in the midst of a raucous debate among sanctions practitioners about the impact of the Fifth Circuit’s recent decision upholding a challenge against the sanctions the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)...more
Shortly before Thanksgiving, a panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled that the Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) did not have the authority to sanction Tornado Cash, which offers a...more
Few areas will be as impacted by the incoming second Trump administration as international trade policy. Check out our team’s assessment of what the coming year may bring for trade regulation and enforcement. Husch...more
On November 26, 2024, the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled that “immutable” smart contracts are not “property” for purposes of regulation by the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control...more
The Fifth Circuit held that Tornado Cash, open-source computer code known as an immutable “smart contract”, is not “property” and thus cannot be subject to blocking sanctions pursuant to IEEPA and EO 13694....more
On November 26, 2024, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals held that the United States Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) exceeded its authority by adding an entity that pools and anonymizes crypto transactions to OFAC’s...more
On November 26, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reversed and remanded a decision by the district court regarding the Office of Foreign Assets Control’s (OFAC) designation of a virtual currency mixer software...more
Marking what appears to be a reversal of previous policy, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) determined that US persons can, subject to certain limitations, include sanctioned persons as speakers at overseas...more
On November 26, the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned sanctions imposed by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) against a decentralized cryptocurrency mixing service (a...more
In a closely watched and complicated case, Van Loon et al. v. Dep’t of the Treasury et al., the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled that the Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) cannot sanction Tornado...more
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled that the Office of Foreign Assets Control ("OFAC") exceeded the authority granted by the International Emergency Economic Powers Act ("IEEPA") when it added the...more
On November 26, 2024, in a three-judge panel decision, Van Loon v. U.S. Department of the Treasury, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (Court) reversed a Texas district court and held that immutable...more
In an era of active U.S. sanctions policy, it is not uncommon to see the Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) issue a notice changing U.S. sanctions – promulgating a new sanctions program or updating the designation of a...more
September saw a number of enforcement actions involving Iran. First, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced separate settlements with 3M and Emigrant Bank for violations of the Iranian Transactions and...more
In two prior posts, this blog tracked the ongoing intrigue of how the various branches of the United States government interact with blockchain and cryptocurrency organizations. We discussed the Wyoming law allowing...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
Complex Civil and Criminal Cases Converge - On August 17, 2023, Judge Robert Pitman of the federal district court for the Western District of Texas issued an Order granting summary judgment for the U.S. Treasury Department...more
Last month we blogged on an indictment in the Southern District of New York (“SDNY”) charging Vladimir Voronchenko (“Vorenchenko”) with scheming to make payments to maintain multiple properties in New York and Florida owned...more
Alleged Evasion Through a Law Firm Account and High-End Real Estate - On February 7, 2023, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York announced the unsealing of an indictment charging Vladimir...more
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York recently unsealed an indictment of Charles McGonigal (“McGonigal”), a former high-ranking FBI official, who has been accused of helping Russian oligarch Oleg...more
Indictment Alleges Use of Shell Companies, Nominees, Foreign Bank Accounts and Real Estate - On December 7, 2022, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York (“DOJ”) unsealed a seven-count...more
The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) on August 8, 2022, imposed sanctions against the popular decentralized virtual currency mixer Tornado Cash alleging that it has been used to launder...more