Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)

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On March 2, 2021, the Biden Administration announced the intelligence community’s finding that Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) used a banned chemical nerve agent to poison Russian opposition leader, Aleksey Navalny.  Shortly following the White House’s press briefing, the Departments of State, Commerce, and Treasury issued press releases announcing new sanctions and export controls, summarized…

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) recently announced settlements with two virtual currency service providers, Bit Pay, Inc. (Bit Pay) and BitGo, Inc. (BitGo), for alleged sanctions violations. Separately, Coinbase Global Inc., (Coinbase) the largest virtual currency exchange in the U.S., has disclosed that its services may have been…

Less than three weeks after the group’s initial addition to the list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations, the Biden administration removed Ansarallah (the Houthis in Yemen) from the list on February 16, 2021.  As a result, Ansarallah is no longer blocked pursuant to OFAC’s Global Terrorism Sanctions Regulations and U.S. persons do not require authorization from…

In the first material sanctions-related action of the new U.S. Administration, on February 11, 2021, President Biden issued Executive Order 14014 (EO) imposing sanctions on Myanmar (Burma) in response to the February 1, 2021, military coup and subsequent detention of government leaders, politicians, and others there. The sanctions focus on the defense sector of the…

On January 27, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued General License 1A, “Authorizing Transactions Involving Securities of Certain Communist Chinese Military Companies,” (“GL 1A”) which amends and replaces General License 1 that had been initially issued on January 8, 2021.  OFAC has also published related frequently asked…

According to a January 19 press release, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) “designated three individuals, fourteen entities, and six vessels for their ties to a network attempting to evade United States sanctions on Venezuela’s oil sector.” According to OFAC, the  Maduro regime is continuing to use “Petroleos…

On January 13, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated “two organizations, along with their leaders and subsidiaries, controlled by the Supreme Leader of Iran, the Execution of Imam Khomeini’s Order (EIKO), and Astan Quds Razavi (AQR).”

Although both purported to be charitable organizations (bonyads), Treasury states, “EIKO and…

This week the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) published three Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) related to Executive Order (E.O.) 13959, “Addressing the Threat from Securities Investments that Finance Communist Chinese Military Companies.”

  • Can U.S. persons custody, offer for sale, serve as a transfer agent, and trade in covered securities?

For purposes…

On December 7, 2020, The Council of the European Union adopted a global human rights sanctions regime, similar to the Magnitsky Sanctions program used by the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). The EU’s framework will permit it to target individuals, entities, and bodies, whether state or non-state actors, and…

On November 19, 2020, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated two entities operating in Russia determined to be involved in the exportation of forced labor from North Korea, under the authority of Executive Order (E.O.) 13722 of March 15, 2016, “Blocking Property of the Government of North Korea and the…