InfoBytes Blog
OFAC publishes illicit drug trade sanctions regulations
On December 19, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced it is adding regulations to implement Executive Order (E.O.) 14059 of December 15, 2021, Imposing Sanctions on Foreign Persons Involved in the Global Illicit Drug Trade. As previously covered by InfoBytes, the E.O. was issued due to the threat of drug trafficking into the U.S of illicit drugs, which “is causing the deaths of tens of thousands of Americans annually, as well as countless more non-fatal overdoses with their own tragic human toll.” Among other provisions, the E.O authorizes the Treasury Department to impose certain sanctions on any foreign person determined to have engaged in activities contributing to the international proliferation of drugs or to have knowingly received property derived from drug proliferation. According to the notice, the regulations are being published in abbreviated form to provide immediate guidance, and OFAC intends to add a more comprehensive set of regulations, which may include additional interpretive guidance and definitions, general licenses, and other regulatory provisions.