Today the U.S. Department of Commerce lifted its denial order on Chinese telecommunications firm ZTE Corp., allowing THE U.S. and other companies to resume most business with ZTE. The Commerce Department imposed the denial order in April after ZTE made false statements to the Commerce Department in connection with an earlier settlement agreement regarding violations … Continue Reading
Yesterday the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) formally rescinded General License H, requiring foreign subsidiaries of U.S. companies to wind down remaining business related to Iran by 11:59 pm EST on November 4, 2018. After that date, foreign subsidiaries of U.S. companies and other owned or controlled entities will generally be prohibited from conducting … Continue Reading
On June 4, 2018, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed into law new counter-sanctions in response to U.S. sanctions imposed against Russia on April 6, 2018. Under the new law, Putin may, among other things, sever ties with unfriendly countries and ban trade of goods with those countries. The final version of the law stopped short … Continue Reading
Yesterday, the President issued a new Executive Order (E.O.) prohibiting certain financial transactions involving the Venezuelan government, including Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PdVSA), the state-owned oil company. Under the new rules, persons subject to U.S. jurisdiction are prohibited from engaging in transactions related to: (i) the purchase of any debt owed to the Government of … Continue Reading
Today, the EC announced that it is moving forward with a package of measures to blunt the impact of renewed U.S. sanctions on Iran following the U.S. exit from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Included in those measures is the planned activation of the EU blocking statute, which would bar EU companies from … Continue Reading
On Tuesday President Trump announced that the United States will exit the multilateral Iran nuclear deal and fully re-impose sanctions on Iran. After the announcement, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the agency responsible for administering most U.S. sanctions, issued a statement and guidance on the re-imposition of U.S. sanctions. This announcement reflects a … Continue Reading
Penalties for violations of sanctions rules administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ticked up again yesterday. Most violations of OFAC’s rules now face statutory penalties of $295,141 or twice the value of the underlying transaction. Penalties for violations of OFAC’s narcotics trafficking regulations are now set at $1,466,485, with penalties for violations … Continue Reading
The President signed a new Executive Order today making it unlawful to engage in transactions involving digital currency issued by the Venezuelan government. The Executive Order makes official prior guidance from the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), which stated that dealings related to Venezuelan digital currency would likely be prohibited under existing sanctions. Last … Continue Reading
Yesterday, the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) blacklisted 14 new Russian individuals and the Internet Research Agency as Specially Designated Nationals (SDNs) for their role interfering with the 2016 U.S. presidential election. While limited in scope, the new designations are the first use of authority under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) … Continue Reading
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)’s new North Korea Sanctions Regulations become effective today. In addition to making certain technical and conforming changes, the newly updated Part 510 incorporates recent changes to the sanctions program under Executive Orders (E.O.) 13687, 13722, and 13810, the North Korea Sanctions and Policy Enhancement Act of 2016, and … Continue Reading
Today the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued new sanctions targeting the shipping industry for dealings involving North Korea. The sanctions include the designation of 56 companies and vessels involved in conducting illegal trade with North Korea. OFAC also issued new guidance for the global shipping and finance industries, describing common methods used … Continue Reading
The United States imposed new sanctions against 21 Russian companies today by adding them to the Commerce Department’s Entity List. Among other restrictions, U.S. and non-U.S. companies are now prohibited from transferring any U.S.-origin items to the sanctioned Russian firms. The parties were added to OFAC’s SDN List last month.… Continue Reading
As required under Section 241 of the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), last night the U.S. government released a public, unclassified version of the much-anticipated “Kremlin Report.” The report was intended to ‘name and shame’ Russian political and business leaders, list their assets outside of Russia, provide an index of corruption with respect … Continue Reading
Under Section 231 of the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), the Trump administration was due to issue secondary sanctions on non-U.S. persons that conduct significant transactions with Russia’s defense and intelligence sectors. The Trump administration declined to issue those new sanctions, claiming that CAATSA was serving as an effective deterrent – discouraging non-U.S. … Continue Reading
Last week, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) blacklisted 21 individuals and nine entities for various reasons, including involvement in the ongoing conflict in eastern Ukraine, connections to the Crimea region (which is subject to a complete U.S. embargo), and links to the Russian government. Several of the newly … Continue Reading
In December last year, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro announced that Venezuela would launch a cryptocurrency called “Petro” in an effort to ease the country’s serious economic woes and avoid U.S. sanctions. Maduro said the government would issue 100 million Petros, with each Petro backed by one barrel of Venezuelan oil. So will U.S. companies finally … Continue Reading
Last week the President begrudgingly extended waivers continuing to lift U.S. “secondary sanctions” on Iran. But the President also insisted that he will not issue further extensions without a renegotiation of certain aspects of the joint nuclear deal with Iran (the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action or JCPOA), throwing the future of the deal and … Continue Reading
On December 20, 2017, the President issued Executive Order 13818 implementing new sanctions against human rights abusers and persons involved in corruption pursuant to the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act (Global Magnitsky Act). The Global Magnitsky Act allows the U.S. government to target persons and entities involved in gross human rights abuses – such … Continue Reading
Many companies supply goods and services through third party distributors. When well-structured, the use of distributors can shift some of the cost and compliance risk of selling products outside of your home territory. But distributors can also create sanctions liability for companies, especially when foreign subsidiaries or others within the company are in on the … Continue Reading
As required under recent sanctions legislation, the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) recently issued an updated Directive 4 that will expand sectoral sanctions on the Russian energy industry. The new rules, which apply to projects initiated on or after January 29, 2018, will bar persons subject to U.S. jurisdiction from providing goods, services, or … Continue Reading
Last Friday the State Department belatedly released a list of 39 Russian entities that operate as part of Russia’s defense and intelligence sectors (the full list is below). Congress required the Trump Administration to produce a list of such parties as part of the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), which became law in … Continue Reading
Today the Office Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) extended sanctions relief for nine Belarussian conglomerates, including Belneftekhim. OFAC has authorized transactions with the listed Belarussian Specially Designated Nationals (SDNs) since October 2015 through a series of temporary general licenses. Today’s General License No. 2D extends the sanctions relief through April 30, 2018, subject to the restrictions … Continue Reading
A recent settlement agreement between the Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) and BD White Birch Investment LLC, a U.S.-based paper company, is an important reminder that U.S. companies cannot assist their foreign subsidiaries or affiliates with sales related to sanctioned countries. … Continue Reading
Today the State Department announced that the U.S. would permanently lift the embargo on Sudan effective October 12, 2017. The decision comes 10 months after President Obama lifted the embargo on an interim basis pending further cooperation by Sudan on various human rights and combating terrorism.… Continue Reading
