In two separate rounds of sanctions designations in the past week, the United States added more parties to the Specially Designated Nationals List (“SDN List”) maintained by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) in the US Treasury Department. These designations are noteworthy given their scope and, in the case of the Iran-related designations, the fact that they included parties in China, Russia, and Türkiye. Not only does this increase the risk of encountering sanctioned…
On August 23, 2023, the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) issued the first Determination Pursuant to Section 1(a)(i) of Executive Order (“EO”) 14014 (the “Determination”), which extends the application of section 1(a)(i) of EO 14014 to the jet fuel sector of the Burmese economy. On the same day, OFAC also published two related Frequently Asked Questions (“FAQs”): FAQ 1132 and FAQ 1133. Our blog post on the issuance of EO 14014…
On 14 June 2023, the UK Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (“OSFI”) published updated guidance for the Maritime Services Ban and Oil Price Cap (the “Updated Guidance”). The Updated Guidance can be found here and our previous blog posts on UK Maritime Services Ban and Oil Price Cap can be found here and here. The Updated Guidance provides additional clarity and detail on the following: Wind-down periods: OFSI has introduced a 45-day wind-down period for…
How can companies prepare in an era of increased sanctions enforcement and investigations? In this video, partners Kerry Contini and Alex Lamy share their advice to companies navigating the rapidly evolving sanctions landscape. As rules become more restrictive, companies should brace themselves for increased compliance risks and routinely review their compliance programs. It is also critical to prepare for cross-border investigations that require a technical understanding of the nuanced rules and their interplay across multiple…