Tagged: ofac

18 Jan, 2023

OFAC’s New Year’s Eve Settlement with Danfoss for $4.3 Million for Sanctions Violations

OFAC closed out 2022 with a late-night $4.3 million settlement with Danfoss A/S, a Danish manufacturer of refrigeration and cooling products for violations of the Iran, Syria and Sudan sanctions programs. OFAC has had a productive year – implementing and enforcing Russian sanctions while continuing its aggressive sanctions enforcement program. For 2022, OFAC had 16 settlements along with $42 million in penalties. Danfoss’ violations involved...

General

13 Dec, 2022

United States and Allies Set Price Cap on Russian Oil — $60 Per Barrel (Part I of IV)

The G-7, the European Union and Australia officially announced a price cap on Russian oil, which includes service and shipping restrictions on oil originating from the Russian Federation and trading above $60 per barrel. After months of negotiations among the nations, the countries finally reached an agreement on a cap that is designed to reduce revenue to Russia in response to the ongoing war in...

General

8 Dec, 2022

Kraken Coughs Up $362,158 to OFAC to Settle Iran Sanctions Violations

Cryptocurrency companies are in trouble. Regulators are bearing down on crypto companies with the Eye of Sauron – pulling the crypto companies into their jurisdiction, prosecuting fraud cases, and aggressively prosecuting companies for sanctions and anti-money laundering violations. One by one you can bet that crypto companies will be in the enforcement headlines. As they fall, policy makers can point to their continuing excesses as...

General

1 Nov, 2022

Navigating DOJ and OFAC Voluntary Disclosures for Sanctions Violations

The Department of Justice is pushing its commitment to voluntary disclosure programs. Companies, however, are not lining up at DOJ’s door. The balance between sitting tight or voluntary disclosures requires care. To complicate matters further, in certain cases, regulated companies have to face civil enforcement issues and coordinate voluntary disclosure programs offered by regulatory agencies. A perfect example of this dual track situation is compliance...

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23 Oct, 2022

OFAC Issues Notice of Violation Against Puerto Rico Bank But Imposes No Penalty for Sanctions Violations

The Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) issued a finding of violation (“FoV”) to Nodus International Bank, Inc. (“Nodus”), located in Puerto Rico, for violation of Venezuelan Sanctions. Nordus voluntarily disclosed three unauthorized transactions in which a Specially Designated National (“SDN”) had an interest. Nodus failed to maintain accurate records related to the handling of blocked property. OFAC determined that a FoV...

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17 Oct, 2022

Lessons Learned from OFAC’s Settlement with Tango Card

Alex Cotoia, Regulatory Manager at The Volkov Law Group, rejoins us for a review of OFAC’s recent settlement with Tango Card for sanctions violations. Alex can be reached at [email protected]. On September 30, 2022, the United States Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Asset Control (“OFAC”) announced a settlement with Tango Card, Inc. (“Tango Card”), a supplier and distributor of stored valued cards used...

General

9 Jun, 2022

Banco Popular de Puerto Rico Settles with OFAC for $255,937 for Violations of Venezuela Sanctions Program

The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Asset Control (“OFAC”) is a busy enforcement agency. OFAC has implemented the comprehensive Russia Sanctions Program in response to Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine. The scope and pace of this process has been unprecedented. Along the way, OFAC is continuing a steady pace of sanctions enforcement actions. In a recent action, Banco Popular de Puerto Rico (“Banco Popular”), a...

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12 May, 2022

United States and EU Expand Russian Sanctions and Export Controls

In its continuing ratcheting of sanctions against Russia, the United States and the European Union have announced new sanctions and export controls to target additional industries and government officials. In a new front, the US and EU included a ban on accounting and business consulting services. The new US restrictions extend to broad export controls and sanctions focused on Russian banking executives, a weapons manufacturer...

General

11 May, 2022

Sanctions Enforcement: “The New FCPA”

Hold onto your hats – while we are on the cusp of more FCPA enforcement actions, the Justice Department and OFAC are gearing up for real and significant sanctions enforcement actions. The dye is cast, so here we go. Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco was recently quoted stating that sanctions enforcement is the “new FCPA.” This is not so surprising given the global crisis caused...

General

6 Apr, 2022

OFAC Settles with S&P Global for $78,750 for Violations of Ukraine-Russia Sanctions Program

Prosecutors and regulators are scouring their files for enforcement actions – criminal and civil – for violations of the 2014 Ukraine-Russia Sanctions Program. The message being sent is clear – do not violate any sanctions against Russia, whether the initial round of restrictions in 2014 in response to Russia’s annexation of Crimea, or the broader sanctions recently implemented in response to Russia’s broader invasion of...