InfoBytes Blog
OFAC sanctions Nigerian nationals involved in business email compromise and romance fraud scheme
On June 16, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced a coordinated action with the DOJ against six Nigerian nationals who allegedly conducted a business email compromise (BEC) scheme and engaged in romance fraud to steal more than $6 million from U.S. businesses and individuals. The designated individuals’ actions included, among other things, allegedly impersonating businesses executives to request and receive wire transfers from legitimate business accounts, and using manipulative tactics to gain access to usernames, passwords, and bank accounts. OFAC designated the individuals pursuant to Executive Order 13694, which “targets malicious cyber-enabled activities, including those related to the significant misappropriation of funds or economic resources for private financial gain.” As a result, all property and interests in property belonging to the designated individuals subject to U.S. jurisdiction are blocked, and “U.S. persons generally are prohibited from dealing with them.”
OFAC also provided additional information regarding BEC scams and romance fraud and referred to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network’s July 2019 advisory, which addresses efforts designed to restrict and impede BEC scammers and other illicit actors who profit from email compromise fraud schemes (covered by InfoBytes here).