In this new era of aggressive sanctions enforcement, companies have to understand the red lines that define where criminal and civil enforcement risk increase.  In contrast to the history of FCPA enforcement, DOJ and OFAC have provided helpful guidance to alert companies where risks are likely to increase. Sanctions enforcement involves an off mix of civil and criminal line drawing.  On the civil side, OFAC...

On April 24, 2024, President Biden signed into law a sweeping national security legislative package that included the 21st Century Peace Through Strength Act, which includes measures to promote sanctions and export controls enforcement and focuses on China trade. The Act: The Act amends the statute of limitations for International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and the Trading with the Enemy Act (TWEA) to ten...

Companies rely on robust distribution chains as an efficient mechanism to enter new markets without requiring a significant investment.  Additionally, companies may maintain parallel sales activities in markets between their own sales staff and third-party distributors, agents, resellers and dealers.  It is interesting how certain industries have evolved and relied on different models for use of third parties with the intent of reaching customers in...

In this new aggressive era of sanctions and export controls enforcement, companies need to understand the potential risks that DOJ and/or OFAC may identify a company for sanctions investigation. In a global economy, investigators from various countries have built coordination procedures by which they share intelligence and possible leads among each other.  This phenomena has created a complex web of investigators who can identify relevant...

OFAC is capable of extending a long-arm of enforcement, reaching sometimes non-U.S. companies that may “cause” another company to violate U.S. Sanctions laws.  If you need to find an example of this long reach, look no further than OFAC’s recent settlement with SCG Plastics (“SCG”), in which SCG, a Thailand company, which sells plastic resins, agreed to pay $20 million for violations of the Iran...