FAQs

US Government Imposes Additional Sanctions on Russian Oligarchs, Government Officials, and Entities

April 13, 2018 by Sylwia A. Lis, Eunkyung Kim Shin and Lloyd Grove

On April 6, 2018, the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) announced new sanctions measures designating as Specially Designated Nationals (“SDNs“) seven Russian oligarchs and 17 Russian government officials previously identified in a report issued pursuant to Section 241 of the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (“CAATSA“; see our previous blog post on this report here) under the authority of Executive Orders 13661 and 13662, pertaining to destabilizing activities by Russia in Ukraine. OFAC also designated 12 entities owned or controlled by those newly designated oligarchs and, under the separate authority of Executive Order 13582, pertaining to support for the Government of Syria, a Russian weapons-trading company and related bank. A complete list of the designated individuals and entities is available here.Read more…

Sylwia A. Lis

Ms. Lis has extensive experience advising companies on US laws relating to exports and reexports of commercial goods and technology, defense trade controls and trade sanctions — including licensing, regulatory interpretations, compliance programs and enforcement matters. She also has advised clients on national security reviews of foreign investment administered by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), including CFIUS-related due diligence, risk assessment, and representation before the CFIUS agencies.

http://www.bakermckenzie.com/SylwiaLis

Eunkyung Kim Shin

Eunkyung advices clients on various regulatory compliance and trade issues, concentrating on the US export controls such as the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) and International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), economic and trade sanctions, US customs and import laws, the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), and foreign anti-bribery laws.

http://www.bakermckenzie.com/EunkyungKimShin

Lloyd Grove

Lloyd advises clients on compliance with the International Traffic in Arms Regulations administered by the US Department of State, and the Export Administration Regulations administered by the Department of Commerce. He has assisted in conducting internal investigations and compliance audits, drafting export licenses and Technical Assistance Agreements, developing comprehensive compliance programs and drafting voluntary disclosures. Lloyd also advises on trade sanctions administered by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control. He has experience drafting license applications for sanctioned countries and parties, conducting internal investigations into potential sanction violations, drafting voluntary disclosures, and conducting due diligence ahead of mergers and acquisitions. A Certified Fraud Examiner and former police detective, Lloyd also conducts complex internal investigations on behalf of clients into potential violations of various regulations. He has interviewed witnesses and subjects, reviewed large volumes of data for relevant evidence, analyzed complex regulatory requirements and prepared investigative reports provided to government agencies.

http://www.bakermckenzie.com/en/people/g/grove-lloyd

US Government to Include Digital Currency Addresses on List of Sanctioned Parties

April 6, 2018 by Nicholas F. Coward, Ryan Fayhee, Alexandre (Alex) Lamy and Patrick Dennien

The US Government is considering adding digital currency addresses affiliated with individuals and entities identified to the List of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (“SDN List”). This would put US persons on notice that doing business with those digital addresses may be prohibited, increasing compliance considerations for businesses delving into the world of virtual currency.Read more…

Nicholas F. Coward

Mr. Coward focuses on outbound trade compliance matters, including the extraterritorial application of US law, particularly US export control laws, anti-boycott regulations and trade sanctions/embargoes maintained by the US government against various countries. In addition, his practice covers issues of corporate conduct such as the application of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and foreign bribery laws. He provides international transactional advice; assistance in the design and implementation of corporate compliance programs, compliance audits, and internal investigations; and representation in enforcement proceedings.

http://www.bakermckenzie.com/NickCoward

Ryan Fayhee

Ryan Fayhee is a partner in Washington, D.C. Mr. Fayhee previously was with the United States Department of Justice for 11 years, where he was a leading national security prosecutor in the areas of economic espionage, export controls, sanctions enforcement, and cybercrime. Through a number of investigations and prosecutions, Mr. Fayhee received special recognition from the Attorney General for devising a model approach to the identification and disruption of foreign military supply and proliferation networks. Mr. Fayhee’s practice focuses on internal and cross-border investigations, acquisition due diligence, trade secret theft, white-collar criminal defense, cybersecurity, national security reviews of foreign acquisitions, and matters arising under the False Claims Act.

http://www.bakermckenzie.com/en/people/f/fayhee-ryan

Alexandre (Alex) Lamy

Alex advises clients on compliance with US export controls, trade and economic sanctions, and antiboycott controls. He counsels on and prepares filings to submit to the US Government’s Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) with respect to the acquisition of US enterprises by non-US interests. Moreover, he advises US and non-US companies in the context of licensing, enforcement actions, internal investigations, compliance audits, mergers and acquisitions and other cross-border transactions, and the design, implementation, and administration of compliance programs.

http://www.bakermckenzie.com/en/people/l/lamy-alexandre

Patrick Dennien

Patrick Dennien is an associate in the Firm's Compliance, Investigations & Government Enforcement Practice Group in Washington, DC. Mr. Dennien represents and advises domestic and international corporate clients on a wide variety of matters, including anti-corruption investigations, sanction systems of public international organizations, anti-money laundering risk, and corporate compliance programs. Prior to joining Baker McKenzie, Mr. Dennien worked as an integrity compliance specialist at The World Bank’s Integrity Vice Presidency, where he assessed fulfillment of compliance conditions imposed on sanctioned parties. Mr. Dennien also advised sanctioned parties on the development and implementation of effective integrity compliance programs. Mr. Dennien began his legal career as a solicitor in Australia, where he practiced in dispute resolution, administrative law, and corporate law.

US Imposes Additional Economic Sanctions on Venezuela Targeting Cryptocurrencies and Certain Other Individuals

March 22, 2018 by Nicholas F. Coward, Eunkyung Kim Shin and Meghan Hamilton

On March 19, 2018, the President issued a new Executive Order related to Venezuela entitled “Taking Additional Steps to Address the Situation in Venezuela” (“Venezuela EO”) available here. The Venezuela EO is the first Executive Order that specifically targets the use of cryptocurrency. Please see our prior blog posts concerning the previous Venezuela-related Executive Orders: (i) Executive Order 13808 of August 24, 2017 here and (ii) Executive Order 13692 of March 8, 2015 here. Read more…

Nicholas F. Coward

http://www.bakermckenzie.com/NickCoward

Eunkyung Kim Shin

http://www.bakermckenzie.com/EunkyungKimShin

Meghan Hamilton

Meg's practice involves assisting multinational companies with export compliance related matters, specifically trade sanctions and export control classifications. Additionally, she assists companies with respect to customs laws, anti-boycott laws and other trade regulation issues in the US and abroad. She also helps obtain authorizations from the US government for activities subject to sanctions regulations and US export control regulations, including the Export Administration Regulations and the International Traffic in Arms Regulations. Meg's practice extends to assistance in internal compliance reviews as well as enforcement actions and disclosures necessitated by US government action.

http://www.bakermckenzie.com/en/people/h/hamilton-meghan

OFAC Reissues North Korea Sanctions Regulations and Publishes New FAQs

March 3, 2018 by Alison J. Stafford Powell, Joseph A Schoorl and Andrea Tovar

On March 1, 2018, the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) announced the amendment and reissuance in their entirety of the North Korea Sanctions Regulations, 31 C.F.R. Part 510 (“NKSR”). A public inspection copy of the Final Rule can be found here. These changes to the NKSR will take effect on March 5, 2018 upon publication in the Federal Register. OFAC also published 13 new FAQs, which can be found here.Read more…

Alison J. Stafford Powell

Ms Stafford Powell advises on all aspects of outbound trade compliance, including compliance planning, risk assessments, licensing, regulatory interpretations, voluntary disclosures, enforcement actions, internal investigations and audits, mergers and acquisitions and other cross-border activities. She develops compliance training, codes of conduct, compliance procedures and policies. She has particular experience in the financial services, technology/IT services, travel/hospitality, telecommunications, and manufacturing sectors.

http://www.bakermckenzie.com/AlisonStaffordPowell

Joseph A Schoorl

Joseph Schoorl is an associate in the Washington, DC office. Prior to joining the Firm, he worked as a clerk in the spring of 2012 and as a summer associate in 2011 at Baker McKenzie. In addition, he interned with the Department of Commerce’s Office of Chief Counsel for Industry and Security. He advises US and non-US companies on licensing, enforcement actions, internal investigations and compliance audits, mergers and acquisitions and other cross-border transactions, and on the design, implementation, and administration of compliance programs. Mr. Schoorl's practice focuses on international trade. He advises clients on compliance with US export controls, trade and economic sanctions, and anti-boycott controls.

http://www.bakermckenzie.com/en/people/s/schoorl-joseph-a

Andrea Tovar

Andrea practices international commercial law with a focus on cross-border transactions including post-acquisition integration IP migrations and technology licensing. She also advises companies on export controls, sanctions, customs and international corporate compliance. Andrea also has an active pro bono practice, including helping organizations with international constitutional matters and victims of domestic abuse.

Sanctions & Export Controls Update