All OFAC articles
-
ArticleTop Ethics and Compliance Failures of 2025
The 2025 year has been so rich with compliance stinkers, and rife with poor judgment, compliance missteps, outright malfeasance and greed, greed, greed, that it was almost impossible to choose just six epic compliance failures from this year’s massive poop pile.
-
ArticleSan Francisco firm pays $11.4M for alleged Russia-related sanctions violations
A San Francisco-based private equity firm has agreed to pay $11.4 million to settle allegations it violated U.S. sanctions rules by handling investments for a sanctioned Russian oligarch.
-
ArticleRussian web company that hosted LockBit ransomware sanctioned
Two Russian web-hosting services that provide cover for ransomware operators, including Lockbit, have been sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury’s OFAC and international partners.
-
ArticleFinCEN cuts off 10 Mexican casinos from U.S. financial system for laundering cartel drug money
Ten Mexican cartels will be severed from the U.S. financial system for laundering money for the Sinaloa Cartel criminal organization, according to the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).
-
ArticleSanctions, money-laundering and supply chains top agenda for energy sector compliance
The energy sector faces rising regulatory activity, with more rules and enforcement. Bribery, corruption, and sanctions now dominate compliance concerns, driving rapid change and pressure on compliance officers.
-
Basic PageU.S. targets southeast Asian “pig butchering”, human trafficking, forced labor empire
This week, U.S. authorities took coordinated action against Cambodian multinational conglomerate Prince Holding Group and its 37-year-old founder Chen Zhi, who is accused of running forced-labor camps in Cambodia where captives were forced to conduct pig butchering scams that defrauded U.S. and global victims out of billions of dollars.
-
News BriefFreight forwarder fined $1.6M after using OFAC-blocked Venezuelan, Iranian carriers
A Houston-based freight forwarder, Fracht FWO Inc., will pay $1.6 million for violating U.S. sanctions tied to Venezuela and Iran, according to the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). The fine comes as OFAC ramps up enforcement in recent months.
-
ArticleOFAC cracks down on Iran’s oil trade with new sanctions sweep
More than 50 people and 50 ships connected to a top Iranian official were added to the U.S. Treasury’s sanctions list on Wednesday, according to the Office of Foreign Assets Control.
-
News BriefU.S. regulators scrutinizing American companies’ transactions with Chinese firms
Recent enforcement actions by U.S. agencies overseeing customs payments and export control laws indicate increased scrutiny of business transactions between U.S. and Chinese companies.
-
News BriefInteractive Brokers to pay $11.8M to settle thousands of U.S. sanction violations
A brokerage and investment firm will pay $11.8 million for providing services to individuals under U.S. sanctions, as well as people located in countries sanctioned by the U.S.
-
News BriefOFAC fines Harman Industries $1.4M for violating U.S. sanctions on Iran
A Connecticut-based audio electronics company will pay a $1.4 million fine for violating U.S. sanctions, after middle managers at a foreign distributor knowingly diverted the company’s products to Iran.
-
News BriefOFAC fines logistics company Key Holding $609k for violating U.S. sanctions on Cuba
A Delaware logistics company paid a $608,825 fine for violating U.S. sanctions on Cuba, a breach that the company self-disclosed to the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
-
News BriefVenture capital firm self-reports sanctions violations of M&A target to DOJ, receives declination
After self-reporting that a recently purchased subsidiary broke U.S. sanctions and export control laws, a Texas-based venture capital fund will receive no penalty from the U.S. Department of Justice.
-
News BriefOFAC hits GVA Capital with $216M penalty for servicing sanctioned Russian oligarch
A San Francisco venture capital firm will pay a $216 million fine to the U.S. Treasury for violating U.S. sanctions by managing investments for a Russian oligarch.
-
News BriefDOJ charges crypto executive with laundering $530M for sanctioned Russian banks
The Department of Justice has charged the founder of cryptocurrency company Evita with 22 violations for allegedly laundering more than $500 million through U.S. banks and cryptocurrency exchanges, on behalf of sanctioned Russian entities.
-
News BriefOFAC, FinCEN tighten screws on Sinaloa Cartel’s money laundering network
The Trump administration has taken two actions to attack money laundering rings operating in Mexico, highlighting the U.S. government’s focus on curbing the fentanyl trade and the illegal profits it generates.
-
News BriefTreasury reversal of OFAC sanctions against Tornado Cash signals eroding AML scrutiny
The U.S. Treasury Department lifted its sanctions against cryptocurrency mixer Tornado Cash on Friday after a federal appeals court ruled in November the penalty levied by the agency’s Office of Foreign Assets Control was an overreach.
-
News BriefSkyGeek dinged by OFAC for completing orders, refunds with sanctioned Russian firms
Nearly three years after Russia invaded Ukraine, numerous U.S. sanctions imposed on Russia-based companies connected to the war effort have made doing business in the country fraught with unseen risks, as one U.S. airplane parts distributor learned recently.
-
News BriefMinnesota transport company hit with sanctions violations for Cuba, Iran trade
A Minnesota transportation company agreed to pay nearly $258,000 to settle allegations that a subsidiaries violated sanctions against Cuba and Iran more than 80 times, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control said.
-
OpinionGerman firm Aiotec to pay $14.5M to settle Iran sanctions violation
German petrochemical parts supplier Aiotec agreed to pay $14.5 million to settle allegations that it engaged in a four-year conspiracy to dismantle and ship a plastics manufacturing plant owned by a U.S. company to Iran, in violation of U.S. sanctions.