Treasury, Delaware sign MOU to strengthen sanctions-related information sharing

Financial Crimes Delaware Of Interest to Non-US Persons Sanctions OFAC Department of Treasury

On September 2, the U.S. Treasury Department and the State of Delaware announced a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) intended to foster cooperative efforts to “shut down or otherwise disrupt the illicit activities of entities that should not be operating in the United States.” Under the MOU, Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and Delaware’s Department of Justice will communicate frequently and meet as needed to identify and shut down entities on OFAC’s List of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN List) or that are otherwise blocked. The MOU is intended, among other things, to (i) promote certain U.S. economic sanctions-related information sharing and facilitate coordinated investigations; (ii) foster cooperative efforts to “heighten awareness of U.S. economic sanctions within both the Delaware business community and the general public” and “protect national security by promoting compliance with U.S. trade and economic sanctions laws”; (iii) support litigation against entities identified on the SDN List; (iv) “[i]mprove transparency into corporate structures used to disguise illicit business dealings”; and (v) “[p]revent abuse of U.S. companies by criminal and terrorist organizations, corrupt individuals, and other blocked persons through cancellation of entities or imposition of OFAC penalties.”