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OFAC sanctions Maduro regime officials in Venezuela
On June 27 and 28, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated two Maduro regime officials and the son of Maduro for engaging in significant corruption and fraud to the detriment of the people of Venezuela. Specifically, OFAC designated the two regime officials pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13692, for having previously received bribes from two Venezuelan businessmen in exchange for awarding contracts for expensive equipment to maintain Venezuelan electrical infrastructure, which were incompatible with the Venezuelan electrical system. Continued corruption and mismanagement resulted in persistent countrywide blackouts, limiting the people’s access to basic goods, services, and potable water supplies, among other things.
Additionally, pursuant to E.O. 13692, OFAC designated the son of Maduro for being a current or former official of the Government of Venezuela and a member of Venezuela’s illegitimate National Constituent Assembly, “which seeks to rewrite the Venezuelan constitution and dissolve Venezuelan state institutions, [and] was created through an undemocratic process instigated by Maduro’s government to subvert the will of the Venezuelan people.”
Federal Judge denies Ukrainian billionaire’s motion to dismiss criminal charges, and Austrian Supreme Court grants U.S. extradition request
Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Illinois denied a motion to dismiss filed by Ukrainian billionaire Dmitry Firtash, allowing several criminal charges––including one count of aiding and abetting an FCPA violation––to proceed. Shortly thereafter, the Austrian Supreme Court reportedly agreed to extradite Firtash to the United States, subject to final review by Austria’s Justice Minister. For prior coverage of Firtash’s motion to dismiss, please see here.
Firtash’s motion argued, inter alia, that he could not be liable under the FCPA as a Ukrainian citizen who does not belong to any class of foreign nationals subject to that statute. Because the Seventh Circuit had not reached the precise question that Firtash raised, Firtash cited Second Circuit precedent holding that “foreign nationals may only violate the [FCPA] outside the United States if they are agents, employees, directors, or shareholders of an American issuer or domestic concern.” United States v. Hoskins, 902 F.3d 69, 97 (2d Cir. 2018). Because Firtash is none of these, he claimed to be exempt from FCPA liability.
Judge Pallmeyer disagreed. Putting aside Hoskins, the judge analyzed generally applicable Seventh Circuit and Supreme Court jurisprudence regarding secondary liability, and concluded that a defendant can be liable for aiding and abetting or conspiring to commit a crime even if he or she would be exempt from primary liability for that crime. Judge Pallmeyer acknowledged that the presumption against extraterritorial application “arguably undermined” the Seventh Circuit precedent upon which her opinion relied, but stated that she was “unwilling to disregard clear guidance from the Seventh Circuit” on the subject of secondary liability. In addition to conflicting with Hoskins, Judge Pallmeyer’s opinion supports the broader scope of FCPA liability for foreign nationals that the DOJ has been pushing for years, and marks the beginning of a potential circuit split on the issue of secondary liability under the FCPA.
CEO and director of investment firm convicted of conspiracy to bribe Haitian officials
After a two-week jury trial in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, the CEO of an investment firm and one of its directors were convicted of conspiracy to violate the FCPA and the Travel Act. Joseph Baptiste, a retired U.S. Army Colonel, was also found guilty of violating the Travel Act and conspiracy to commit money laundering. For prior coverage of the charges against Baptiste and CEO Roger Richard Boncy, please see here.
The evidence that federal prosecutors presented against Boncy and Baptiste included intercepted phone calls in which they discussed their plan to bribe Haitian officials “at all levels of government” in order to obtain governmental approval of a proposed $84 million project to develop a port in northwestern Haiti. In a recorded conversation with undercover agents posing as investors, Boncy and Baptiste allegedly solicited funds and told agents that the funds would be used to bribe the aide of a high-level elected official in Haiti. To conceal the bribes, Boncy and Baptiste allegedly said that they would funnel the agents’ funds through a U.S.-based non-profit organization that Baptiste controlled, which purported to sponsor social programs for Haitian residents.
The case against Boncy and Baptiste began with a sting operation conducted by the FBI in 2017. Boncy and Baptiste are scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Allison D. Burroughs on September 12, 2019.
OFAC amends Venezuela-related general licenses; temporarily extends two Ukraine-related general licenses
On June 26, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced General License (GL) 13B, which supersedes and replaces GL 13A. GL 13B expires on October 25. Additionally, OFAC extended the expiration date to November 8 of two Ukraine-related GLs by issuing GL 13L, which supersedes GL 13K, and GL 15F, which supersedes GL 15 E. OFAC also noted that GL 15F includes a new authorization for certain safety-related activity.
Visit here for continuing InfoBytes coverage of actions related to Venezuela, and here for actions related to Ukraine.
FATF establishes binding measures on virtual currency regulation
On June 21, the Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Treasury issued a statement confirming that FATF members agreed to regulate and supervise virtual asset financial activities and related service providers. On the same day, FATF issued a statement noting that it “adopted and issued an Interpretive Note to Recommendation 15 on New Technologies (INR. 15) that further clarifies the FATF’s previous amendments to the international Standards relating to virtual assets and describes how countries and obliged entities must comply with the relevant FATF Recommendations to prevent the misuse of virtual assets for money laundering and terrorist financing and the financing of proliferation.” As previously covered by InfoBytes, in October 2018, FATF urged all countries to take measures to prevent virtual assets and cryptocurrencies from being used to finance crime and terrorism and updated The FATF Recommendations to add new definitions for “virtual assets” and “virtual asset service providers” and to clarify how the recommendations apply to financial activities involving virtual assets and cryptocurrencies.
According to FATF announcement, INR. 15 establishes “binding measures,” which require countries to, among other things, (i) assess and mitigate risks associated with virtual asset activities and service providers; (ii) license or register service providers and subject them to supervision; (iii) implement sanctions and other enforcement measures when service providers fail to comply with an anti-money laundering/combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) obligation; and (iv) ensure that service providers implement the full range of AML/CFT preventive measures under the FATF Recommendations, including customer due diligence, record-keeping, suspicious transaction reporting, and screening all transactions for compliance with targeted financial sanctions.
President Trump imposes new sanctions on Iran; OFAC announces designations
On June 24, President Trump issued Executive Order (E.O.) 13876, “Imposing Sanctions with Respect to Iran,” which: (i) imposes sanctions on Iran’s Supreme Leader’s Office (SLO); and (ii) targets persons appointed to certain official or other positions by the Supreme Leader and/or his office for allegedly taking actions to “destabilize the Middle East, promote international terrorism, and advance Iran’s ballistic missile program, and Iran’s irresponsible and provocative actions in and over international waters.” Among other things, E.O. 13876 authorizes the Secretaries of Treasury and State to impose sanctions on a foreign financial institution if it is determined that it has knowingly conducted or facilitated any significant financial transactions in these sectors, or for or on behalf of a blocked person. These sanctions would prohibit the opening of, or impose strict conditions on maintaining, a correspondent account or payable-through account by such foreign financial institutions in the United States.
On the same day, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated eight senior commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) pursuant to E.O. 13224, which “provides a means by which to disrupt the financial support network for terrorists and terrorist organizations.” According to OFAC, the sanctions are meant to reinforce the President’s newly issued E.O. 13876. As a result of the designations, “all property and interests in property of these targets that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons must be blocked and reported to OFAC.” OFAC noted that persons who engage in transactions with the designated individuals and entities may be exposed to sanctions themselves or subject to enforcement action.
Multinational retailer settles FCPA claims by DOJ and SEC for $282 million
On June 20, the DOJ announced a $137 million settlement with a U.S.-based multinational retailer (the Retailer) and its wholly owned Brazilian subsidiary (the Subsidiary) to resolve claims they violated the FCPA. The Retailer entered into a non-prosecution agreement, while the Subsidiary pleaded guilty. On the same day, the SEC issued an administrative order requiring the Retailer to pay $144 million in disgorgement and interest. The SEC stated that the Retailer failed to “operate a sufficient anti-corruption compliance program for more than a decade as the retailer experienced rapid international growth.” In total, the Retailer will pay more than $282 million to settle the charges.
According to the DOJ announcement, from 2001 to 2011, the Retailer failed to implement and maintain internal accounting controls related to anti-corruption, and senior officials were aware of the failures. The failures allegedly allowed the Retailer’s foreign subsidiaries in Mexico, India, Brazil and China to hire third-party intermediaries (TPIs) “without establishing sufficient controls to prevent those TPIs from making improper payments to government officials in order to obtain store permits and licenses,” which, in turn, allowed the foreign subsidiaries to open stores faster, earning the company additional profits. In its non-prosecution agreement with the DOJ, in addition to the monetary penalty, the Retailer agreed to: (i) appoint an independent compliance monitor for a two-year term; and (ii) continue to cooperate with the DOJ’s investigation. The monetary penalty amount was calculated by reducing by 25 percent the bottom of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines fine range for the portion of the penalty applicable to conduct in Brazil, China, and India, and reducing by 20 percent the bottom of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines fine range for the portion of the penalty applicable to conduct in Mexico.
OFAC targets Russian facilitators of illicit North Korean transactions
On June 19, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced its decision to sanction a Russian financial entity, pursuant to Executive Order 13382, for allegedly “having provided, or attempted to provide, financial, material, technological, or other support for, or goods or services” on behalf of an entity that is owned and controlled by North Korea’s primary foreign exchange bank. According to OFAC, since at least 2017 and continuing through 2018, the Russian entity has provided multiple accounts to the North Korean entity, which has “enabled North Korea to circumvent U.S. and UN sanctions to gain access to the global financial system in order to generate revenue for the Kim regime’s nuclear program.” Pursuant to OFAC’s sanctions, all property and interests in property of the designated persons within U.S. jurisdiction must be blocked and reported to OFAC. OFAC notes that its regulations “generally prohibit” U.S. persons from participating in transactions with these individuals and entities.
OFAC sanctions entity and two individuals for trafficking weapons to IRGC-QF and facilitating sanctions evasion
On June 12, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed sanctions on a resource trading company and its two Iraqi associates, for trafficking “hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of weapons” to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF) and facilitating access to the Iraqi financial system to evade sanctions.
According to OFAC, the sanctions were issued pursuant to Executive Order 13224, which “provides a means by which to disrupt the financial support network for terrorists and terrorist organizations.” As a result, “all property and interests in property of these targets that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons must be blocked and reported to OFAC.” OFAC noted that persons who engage in transactions with the designated individuals and entities may be exposed to sanctions themselves or subject to enforcement action. Moreover, OFAC warned foreign financial institutions that, unless an exemption applies, they may be subject to U.S. sanctions if they knowingly facilitate significant transactions for any of the designed individuals or entities.
OFAC adds Syrian developer and related businesses to Specially Designated Nationals List
On June 11, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced additions to the Specially Designated Nationals List pursuant to Executive Orders (E.O.) 13573 and 13582. OFAC’s additions to the list include 13 entities and three individuals associated with an international network benefiting the Assad regime in Syria. According to OFAC, a Syrian business developer and his associated businesses have “leveraged the atrocities of the Syrian conflict into a profit-generating enterprise.” As a result, “all property and interests in property of these individuals and entities that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons must be blocked and reported to OFAC.”
See here for continuing InfoBytes coverage of actions related to Syria.