The Biden Administration has a lot on its plate – that is obvious.  Tackling the COVID-19 pandemic and restoring economic growth is one of the most difficult challenges ever facing our country.  Across the government, a new administration poses significant changes in priorities. The Justice Department will be tough on corporate crime and compliance.  With the exception of a failure to prosecute individuals responsible for...

OFAC announced a $257k settlement with Biomin America, Inc. (“Biomin”), an animal nutrition company based in Overland, Kansas, to settle violations of the Cuban Sanctions Program. OFAC recently issued guidance suggesting that organizations may re-allocate or reduce sanctions compliance operations based on the impact of the pandemic on an organization’s business activities.  Notwithstanding this guidance, OFAC announced this enforcement action, the first in several months,...

Janet Longo, Regulatory Compliance Analyst at The Volkov Law Group, joins us for a posting on videoconferencing and compliance export controls. Janet can be reached at [email protected]. As the Covid-19 virus is proliferating, so is the practice of conducting business through videoconferencing from home. While many commentators have discussed the serious data privacy and security problems associated with video conferencing, we’ve been thinking about the...

Compliance professionals are implementing their own monitoring and auditing strategies.  Internal audit does not have the resources nor the time to assume responsibility for this function.  If possible, internal audit may support, advise and assist in the monitoring and auditing functions.  Frankly, a partnership between compliance and internal audit in this area is ideal but compliance cannot wait for internal audit to join the mission. ...

Companies will often rely on a network of distributors to help sell their products in emerging markets.  From a business economics standpoint, engaging a distributor is often more cost efficient than investing in a sales force in a new market.  As a result, companies may enter a new market by relying on distributors, and if successful, may invest in the future by establishing its own...

Companies involved in export and import activities face a variety of risks from sanctions and export controls created by a complex maze of regulations and oversight from the Department of State, Department of Treasury and the Department of Commerce.  With the increasing complexity of sanctions regimes, companies have to devote significant attention and resources to implement an effective trade compliance program. In this episode, Michael...

On November 5, 2018 the Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Asset Control (“OFAC”) completed the process to re-impose the Iran sanctions program.  The 180-day wind-down period for termination of the United States’ participation in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (“JCPOA”) ended.  As part of the re-imposition of U.S. sanctions, OFAC added more than 700 individuals, entities, aircraft, and vessels to the SDN List,...