U.S. agencies issue ‘know your cargo’ transport compliance note
By Kyle Brasseur2023-12-11T19:27:00
Five agencies of the U.S. government combined to issue best practices guidance for entities in the maritime and other transportation industries to help reduce risk of sanctions and export control violations and evasion efforts.
The Department of Justice (DOJ), Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security, Department of Homeland Security’s Homeland Security Investigations, State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls, and Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) released a joint compliance note Monday to highlight tactics commonly deployed by bad actors regarding the transportation sector. The note includes signs of sanctions evasion efforts and examples of relevant agency enforcement actions.
On the enforcement front, the DOJ announced in September a landmark criminal resolution involving a Greek-based shipping company’s transport of nearly 1 million barrels of contraband crude oil from Iran. Empire Navigation pleaded guilty to violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and was fined $2.5 million in addition to receiving three years of corporate probation as part of a deferred prosecution agreement.