This was a strange year. Not just because of the continuing pandemic and economic disruption. The Biden Administration took over after an unusual and delayed transition. The apparatus of government was slow to transition. Compounding this disruption, the government had to maintain a singular focus on the pandemic. As a result, the wheels of government moved in strange ways, often with delays. The Biden Administration’s...
The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Asset Control had another consistent year – not a big year but continued adherence to its enforcement program. At the end of the year, OFAC announced a settlement with TD Bank for $115,000 for two separate sanctions violations. In the first, TD Bank illegally processed nearly 1,500 transactions that violated US sanctions against North Korea. Interestingly, it does not...
The United States Department of Commerce and Department of Treasury continue to ramp up sanctions against Chinese entities as part of the ongoing tension between China and the United States. The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) added 37 entities to the Entity List, including 34 Chinese research institutes and technology companies, linked to supporting China’s military modernization efforts or Iran’s weapons program. ...
The Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 was a game-changing piece of legislation. Perhaps the most important provision is the expansion of beneficial ownership regulatory authority. Following up on this important issue, the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to implement new beneficial ownership reporting requirements. In the international sphere of AML compliance and enforcement, the United States has...
NatWest’s fraudulent “spoofing” schemes occurred in the primary and secondary markets for U.S. Department of Treasury Securities, including derivatives that tracked the prices of U.S. Treasury Securities for 5-year, 10-year and 30-year Treasury notes and bonds. Between January 2008 and May 2014, a NatWest trader in London (Trader-1) and NatWest’s broker-dealer in Stanford (trader-2) engaged in a number of schemes to defraud relating to the...
The Department of Justice secured a guilty plea from NatWest Markets, the newly-named Royal Bank of Scotland, for trade manipulation, referred to as “spoofing,” in U.S. Treasury markets. The NatWest resolution reflected new changes in DOJ’s white collar enforcement policies, including acknowledgement and consideration of NatWest’s prior misconduct (criminal and civil) and appointment of an independent compliance monitor. NatWest was not offered a deferred or...
The Volkov Law Group wishes our clients, colleagues, subscribers, readers and friends and families a wonderful, happy holiday season. We are grateful for your support and your friendship. We look forward to a New Year filled with hope, recovery, and a bright path forward. Our blog, podcasts and webinars will return after the New Year. Thank you again from all of us at The Volkov...
In May 2019, OFAC released its Framework for a Sanctions Compliance Program. OFAC announced that it intended to increase the prosecution of individuals for sanctions violations. OFAC has brought two cases against individuals, and last week settled its third case against an individual since its May 2019 announcement. The latest case involves prohibited transactions with Iran relating to the cement clinker business. The individual, a...
In an interesting announcement, the US, EU, UK and Canada implemented additional sanctions against Belarus. The coordinated announcement reflected the Biden Administration’s diplomatic commitment to joint sanctions actions. The strategy is designed to increase the impact of sanctions programs in response to President Lukashenko’s pushing of a humanitarian crisis resulting from the migrant crisis in Eastern Europe. This humanitarian crisis resulted in widespread condemnation by...
When the Department of Justice warns businesses and individuals, everyone needs to listen and respond accordingly. Starting in 2016, the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division warned businesses that the Antitrust Division intended to bring criminal prosecutions for illegal agreements, price-fixing/wage-fixing, in labor markets. No one should be surprised – DOJ has been bringing criminal cases against companies, executives and human resource professionals. In the beginning of...
