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OFAC sanctions Mexican cartel members and facilitator
On May 12, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced sanctions pursuant to the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act against a commander and his organization responsible for facilitating drug trafficking between Mexico and the U.S. OFAC also designated six other individuals and one entity as Specially Designated Narcotics Traffickers pursuant to the Kingpin Act for their connections to the organization. Director of OFAC Andrea Gacki noted that the sanctioned organization “help[s] fuel our nation’s opioid epidemic” and that “Treasury and our U.S. government partners, including the Drug Enforcement Administration, will continue to use every available resource to dismantle these criminal networks.” As a result of the sanctions, all property belonging to the sanctioned persons subject to U.S. jurisdiction are blocked and must be reported to OFAC. U.S. persons are also generally prohibited from engaging in any dealings involving the property of blocked or designated persons.
These sanctions against the drug trafficking cartel are the most recent efforts taken by OFAC pursuant to the Kingpin Act (covered in InfoBytes, here and here).
OFAC sanctions Mexican cartel members and facilitator
On May 12, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced sanctions pursuant to the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act against a commander and his organization responsible for facilitating drug trafficking between Mexico and the U.S. OFAC also designated six other individuals and one entity as Specially Designated Narcotics Traffickers pursuant to the Kingpin Act for their connections to the organization. Director of OFAC Andrea Gacki noted that the sanctioned organization “help[s] fuel our nation’s opioid epidemic” and that “Treasury and our U.S. government partners, including the Drug Enforcement Administration, will continue to use every available resource to dismantle these criminal networks.” As a result of the sanctions, all property belonging to the sanctioned persons subject to U.S. jurisdiction are blocked and must be reported to OFAC. U.S. persons are also generally prohibited from engaging in any dealings involving the property of blocked or designated persons.
These sanctions against the drug trafficking cartel are the most recent efforts taken by OFAC pursuant to the Kingpin Act (covered in InfoBytes, here and here).
OFAC sanctions Hizballah finance official and Lebanese shadow bankers
On May 11, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced sanctions pursuant to Executive Order 13224 against seven individuals in connection with Hizballah and its financial firm, which is used by Hizballah to direct the terrorist organization’s financial involvements and to access the international financial system. According to OFAC, one of the sanctioned individuals, who serves as the Chief of Hizballah’s Central Finance Unit, has “acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, Hizballah.” The other sanctioned individuals have “acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, [the financial firm].” As a result of the sanctions, all property and interests in property belonging to the sanctioned persons, and “any entities that are owned, directly or indirectly, 50 percent or more” by them that are subject to U.S. jurisdiction are blocked and must be reported to OFAC. OFAC notes that its regulations generally prohibit U.S. persons from participating in transactions with these persons, which include “any property or interests in property of designated or otherwise blocked persons.”
OFAC says prohibitions no longer apply to previously sanctioned Chinese military company
On May 6, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) published FAQ 893 clarifying that prohibitions under Executive Order (E.O.) 13959, “Addressing the Threat from Securities Investments that Finance Communist Chinese Military Companies,” do not apply to a previously listed company. Specifically, OFAC explained that following a May 5 court order preliminarily enjoining the implementation of E.O. 13959 against the company, the E.O.’s prohibitions will not apply pending further order of the court.
Senators urge FinCEN to implement beneficial ownership database
On May 5, Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), and Marco Rubio (R-FL) sent a letter to FinCEN’s Policy Division urging the implementation of a new company ownership database as a result of sweeping new anti-money laundering legislation. As previously covered in Infobytes, FinCen issued an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) in March seeking comments on a range of issues related to the implementation of the beneficial ownership information requirements under the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), which is included within the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2021, enacted in January as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021. The Senators stress that “FinCEN should ensure that authorized users, including law enforcement and national security officials, and financial institutions with customer consent, have early, timely, and full access to beneficial ownership information.” The letter also notes that the passing of the CTA “represents perhaps the most important anti-money laundering reform of the past decade. Despite the legislative success, this achievement can only be realized if the system works in practice.” The letter requests FinCEN to promptly execute a straightforward, efficient, and effective system.
FinCEN renews GTOs covering 12 metropolitan areas
On April 29, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) reissued the renewal of its Geographic Targeting Orders (GTOs). The GTOs require U.S. title insurance companies to identify the natural persons behind shell companies that pay “all cash” (i.e., the transaction does not involve external financing) for residential real estate in the 12 major metropolitan areas covered by the orders. The renewed GTOs are identical to the November 2020 GTOs (covered by InfoBytes here). The purchase amount threshold for the beneficial ownership reporting requirement remains set at $300,000 for residential real estate purchased in the covered areas. The GTOs do not require reporting for purchases made by legal entities that are U.S. publicly-traded companies.
The renewed GTOs take effect May 5 and end October 31, and cover certain counties within the following areas: Boston, Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, Honolulu, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York City, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, and Seattle.
FinCEN FAQs regarding GTOs are available here.
OFAC reaches $2.1 million settlement with German software company
On April 29, OFAC announced a more than $2.1 million settlement with a Germany-based software company for 190 apparent violations of the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations. According to OFAC’s website notice, between June 2013 and January 2018, the company “authorized 13 sales of [company] software licenses, 169 sales of related maintenance services and updates, and eight sales of cloud-based subscription services.” Third-party resellers, which the company allegedly referred to as “pass-through entities” in Turkey, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Germany, and Malaysia, sold the software licenses and related maintenances services and updates, OFAC noted.
In arriving at the settlement amount, OFAC considered various aggravating factors, including that the company (i) demonstrated reckless disregard and failed to exercise sufficient caution or care for U.S. economics sanctions by failing to act on audit findings regarding sanction risk or warnings from compliance, and by ignoring whistleblower complaints; (ii) failed to have an adequate compliance program for a company of its size; (iii) had information to conclude that the software and cloud services were being utilized by entities and end-users in Iran and were supported from the US; and (iv) “is a sophisticated software company with significant international operations and has numerous foreign subsidiaries.”
OFAC also considered various mitigating factors, including that the company (i) cooperated with OFAC’s investigation; (ii) has undertaken remedial measures, including terminating the users connected to the third-country entities, the partners who participated in the sales to Iranian companies, and five employees who were found to have “knowingly engaged in the sale of. . . products to Iran”; (iii) has prohibited downloads of software, support, and maintenance from embargoed countries; (iv) implemented a risk-based export control framework for partners that requires a stringent review of proposed sales by a third-party auditor; (v) created an upgraded compliance program; and (vi) hired new employees responsible for export control and trade sanctions compliance.
Separately, the DOJ announced that the company agreed to pay a $8 million fine and entered into a Non-Prosecution Agreement as a result of its voluntary disclosure to the DOJ and “extensive cooperation and strong remediation.” Pursuant to the agreement, the company “will disgorge $5.14 million of ill-gotten gain.”
OFAC settles with global payments company
On April 29, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced a nearly $35,000 settlement between a Texas-based global payments company for 359 apparent violations of multiple sanctions programs. According to OFAC’s website notice, between March 2013 and April 2016, “the company provided money transfer services to the Department of Justice’s Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), which allowed inmates to send and receive funds into and out of their personal commissary accounts[]” without screening, or without sufficiently screening, the inmates against the SDN List.
In arriving at the settlement amount, OFAC considered various aggravating factors, including that the company (i) “knew that there could be incarcerated blocked persons that would be receiving payments into their commissary accounts, but did not screen the beneficiaries of the transactions against the SDN List because of an erroneous misunderstanding of itsobligations;” and (ii) is a large and commercially sophisticated international financial institution.
OFAC also considered various mitigating factors, including, among other factors, that the company (i) cooperated with OFAC’s investigation; and (ii) self-disclosed the apparent violations and had already undertaken remedial measures, including retiring its screening system and launching a new system, implementing screening for all BOP-related transactions, implementing additional training to its agent network, and increasing its compliance department staffing.
OFAC amends Somalia Sanctions Regulations
On April 27, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced amendments and reissued the Somalia Sanctions Regulations in its entirety to further implement an April 2010 Somalia-related executive order (E.O. 13536), and to implement a July 2012 Somalia-related executive order (E.O. 13620). The final rule “replaces the regulations that were published in abbreviated form on May 5, 2010 and includes additional interpretive and definitional guidance, general licenses, statements of licensing policy, and other regulatory provisions that will provide further guidance to the public.” Updates include new section 1(a) of E.O. 13536, as amended by E.O. 13620, which blocks, with certain exceptions, “all property and interests in property that are in the United States, that come within the United States, or that are or come within the possession or control of any United States person of: (i) the persons listed in the Annex to amended E.O. 13536; and (ii) any person determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State. . .to have engaged in acts that directly or indirectly threaten the peace, security, or stability of Somalia. . . .” The final rule takes effect April 28.
OFAC sanctions Guatemalan officials
On April 26, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced sanctions pursuant to Executive Order 13818 against one current and one former Guatemalan government official under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act. According to OFAC, the sanctioned persons “have directly or indirectly engaged in, corruption, including the misappropriation of state assets, the expropriation of private assets for personal gain, corruption related to government contracts or the extraction of natural resources, or bribery.” As a result of the sanctions, all property and interests in property belonging to the sanctioned persons, and “any entities that are owned, directly or indirectly, 50 percent or more” by them that are subject to U.S. jurisdiction are blocked and must be reported to OFAC. OFAC notes that its regulations generally prohibit U.S. persons from participating in transactions with these persons, which include “the making of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services by, to, or for the benefit of any blocked person or the receipt of any contribution or provision of funds, goods or services from any such person.”