Author: Daniela Melendez

General

6 Jan, 2025

OFAC Designates Gazprombank for Inclusion on SDN List 

By: Daniela Melendez, Associate at The Volkov Law Group, and Alex Cotoia, Regulatory Compliance Manager. Daniela can be reached at [email protected] and Alex can be reached out at [email protected]. In a significant development underscoring the U.S. government’s continued efforts to counter Russia’s destabilizing activities, the U.S. Department of the Treasury recently announced the designation of Gazprombank as a Specially Designated National (“SDN”) under Executive Order 14024. This action,...

General

3 Dec, 2024

American Life Insurance Company Settles with OFAC for $178,421 Related to Apparent Violations of Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations

By: Daniela Melendez, Associate at The Volkov Law Group, and Alex Cotoia, Regulatory Compliance Manager. Daniela can be reached at [email protected] and Alex can be reached out at [email protected]. The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) recently settled with American Life Insurance Company (“ALICO”), a Delaware-based subsidiary of MetLife, Inc., for $178,421, addressing apparent violations of the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations (“ITSR”)....

General

7 Nov, 2024

OFAC Imposes $860,000 Penalty on Vietnamese Beverage Company for Violations of North Korean Sanctions

By: Daniela Melendez, Associate at The Volkov Law Group, and Alex Cotoia, Regulatory Compliance Manager. Daniela can be reached at [email protected] and Alex can be reached out at [email protected]. North Korea Sanctions Violations In a recent enforcement action, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) imposed an $860,000 penalty on Vietnam Beverage Company Limited (“VBCL”), a holding company based in Vietnam, for apparent...

General

6 Aug, 2024

FinCEN Issues Proposed Rule to Strengthen and Modernize Financial Institutions’ AML/CFT Programs

By: Sam Finkelstein and Daniela Melendez, associates at the Volkov Law Group . Sam can be reached at [email protected] and Daniela can be reached at [email protected]. On June 28, 2024, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network released a notice of proposed rulemaking. The purpose of the proposed rule is to strengthen and modernize Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (“AML/CFT”) processes for financial institutions (including, but not...

General

15 May, 2024

EU Enacts New Directive Establishing Criminal Offenses for the Violation of Restrictive Measures

By: Daniela Melendez, Associate at The Volkov Law Group, and Alex Cotoia, Regulatory Compliance Manager. Daniela can be reached at [email protected] and Alex can be reached out at [email protected]. On April 24, 2024, the European Union (“EU”) officially adopted Directive (EU) 2024/1226 on the definition of criminal offenses and penalties for the violation of Union restrictive measures and amending Directive (EU) 2018/1673 (the “Directive”). A copy of the...

General

3 May, 2024

DOJ Charges Ten Individuals for Violating Venezuelan Sanctions

On April 22, 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice announced the indictment of 10 Venezuelan individuals for conspiring to violate the International Economic Emergency Powers Act (“IEEPA”). According to the DOJ, the individuals conspired to decade U.S. sanctions imposed on Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. (“PDVSA”) in January 2019. In April 2024, one of the defendants was arrested upon arrival at Miami’s internal Airport.  The Violations...

General

30 Apr, 2024

DOJ Heralds New Voluntary Self-Disclosure Program for Individuals

By: Daniela Melendez, Associate at The Volkov Law Group, and Alex Cotoia, Regulatory Compliance Manager. Daniela can be reached at [email protected] and Alex can be reached out at [email protected]. On April 15, 2024 Nicole Argentieri, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General and the Head of the U.S. Department of Justice’s (“DOJ’s”) Criminal Division, announced a new voluntary self-disclosure program for individuals complicit in certain types of organized...

briqven factory in ciudad guayana in venezuela

General

29 Apr, 2024

La Oficina de Control de Activos (OFAC) no renovó la licencia 44 y en consecuencia se revoca el alivio de Sanciones a Venezuela

El 17 de abril de 2024, la OFAC revocó formalmente el alivio de sanciones que anteriormente había proporcionado a la industria petrolera y de gas en Venezuela. Mediante la licencia 44 la OFAC había proporcionado un alivio de sanciones a Venezuela en condición de que el gobierno de Venezuela organizara unas elecciones libres y justas. Debido al incumplimiento del gobierno de Venezuela, la OFAC revocó...

General

28 Mar, 2024

General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Whistleblowing Laws (Part II of II)

Daniela Melendez Garces, Associate at The Volkov Law Group and Alex Cotoia, Regulatory Compliance Manager at The Volkov Law Group Challenges may arise when conducting an internal investigation related to an underlying disclosure by a whistleblower pursuant to the EU Directive, because companies must strictly comply with the GDPR. Failure to comply with the GDPR can lead to administrative sanctions and high fines by the...

General

27 Mar, 2024

Implementation of EU Directive on Whistleblowing 2019/1931 (Part I of II)

By: Daniela Melendez, Associate at The Volkov Law Group and Alex Cotoia, Regulatory Compliance Manager at The Volkov Law Group Since its enactment in 2019, the European Union (“EU”) Directive on Whistleblowing 2019/1931 (“EU Directive”) has required all 27 EU Member States to incorporate certain requirements pertaining to the protection of whistleblowers into their own bodies of national law. The EU Directive alloted 2 years...

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