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OFAC sanctions ISIS financial facilitators in Syria and Turkey
On May 17, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced sanctions pursuant to Executive Order 13224 against three individuals and one entity connected to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) for allegedly helping ISIS access the financial system in the Middle East through a network of international donors. OFAC noted that these sanctions coincide with the fourteenth meeting of the Counter ISIS Finance Group, which coordinates efforts to isolate ISIS from the international financial system and eliminate revenue sources. 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’s announcement further noted that OFAC regulations “generally prohibit” U.S. persons from participating in transactions with the designated persons unless exempt or otherwise authorized by a general or specific license, and warned foreign financial institutions that if they knowingly facilitate significant transactions for any of the designated persons, they may be subject to U.S. correspondent account or payable-through account sanctions.
OFAC sanctions Burmese governing body and numerous individuals
On May 17, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced sanctions pursuant to Executive Order 14014 against 16 individuals connected to Burma’s military regime and one entity, the State Administration Council (SAC), which is the official name of the military government in Burma formed by Burma’s military on February 2, 2021. As a result of the sanctions, all property and interests in property belonging to the SAC and the identified individuals subject to U.S. jurisdiction are blocked and must be reported to OFAC. According to Andrea Gacki, Director of OFAC, these sanctions “promote accountability for those responsible for the coup and ongoing violence.” Additionally, “any entities that are owned, directly or indirectly, 50 percent or more by one or more blocked persons are also blocked.” The sanctions also generally prohibit U.S. persons from engaging in any dealings involving the property or interests in property of the SAC or the identified individuals.
OFAC amends narcotics trafficking and kingpin-related sanctions regulations
On May 14, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued a final rule to amend the Narcotics Trafficking Sanctions Regulations (NTSR) and Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Sanctions Regulations (FNKSR). The amendments relate to “general licenses for payments for legal services, certain transactions for personal maintenance, certain transactions for maintenance of blocked tangible property, and emergency medical services.” In addition, the final rule updates regulatory provisions prohibiting transactions involving blocked property and clarifies the terms “evasions,” “attempts,” and “conspiracies” in the NTSR and the FNKSR so that they are consistent with the definitions of those terms in other OFAC sanctions regulations.
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.
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.