Question: I read in the Daily Bugle recently about a small family-owned business in Maryland with only ten employees that had to pay a $78,750 penalty for alleged export violations. The article said they had shipped three HVAC duct fabrication machines to a company in China and received payments for them “without authorization from OFAC.” Can you tell me what this is all about? I’m familiar with ITAR and EAR export controls, of course. As a U.S. manufacturer and exporter, my company is registered with the State Department’s DDTC, and we’ve applied for multiple BIS export licenses using the SNAP-R system, but this was new to me. How much do I need to know about OFAC? Bottom line: how critical is this for my company?
Yes, you should know about this. Not knowing can be costly and painful, as that company you read about in the news—Precision Products Inc. (PPI) of Charlotte Hall, Maryland—learned to their dismay earlier this year. You, too, are among those to whom OFAC regulations apply.
OFAC, the Office of Foreign Assets Control, is an often overlooked but extremely powerful and far-reaching agency of the Treasury Department. Its mission is to administer and enforce economic and trade sanctions based on U.S. foreign policy and national security goals. Many of these sanctions programs—prohibitions on financial dealing—have been put in place by the U.S. Government to ensure that companies don’t unwittingly do business with terrorist organizations, sanctioned countries, nationals of some countries, and other specified entities who are engaged in activities related to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction or other threats. Some OFAC sanctions are based on United Nations and other international mandates, and are therefore multilateral in scope, involving close cooperation with allied governments.
OFAC acts under Presidential wartime and national emergency powers, as well as authority granted by specific legislation. The agency has the authority to prohibit U.S. citizens and corporations from making payments, or providing anything of value, to embargoed countries, businesses, organizations, or individuals. It has the power to impose controls on business transactions of all kinds and freeze any assets that are under U.S. jurisdiction. It publishes the constantly updated list of over 6,000 names–the Specially Designated Nationals List (“SDN List”)–of companies and individuals whose assets are blocked. This is a “black list”: Americans are expressly forbidden to enter into transactions with any of these companies and individuals. U.S. exporters and importers are required to exercise due diligence in searching the SDN List and confirming that dealings with foreign countries are not in violation of OFAC sanctions programs.
In addition, OFAC prohibits travel to, and certain other dealings with, embargoed countries and entities. There are a handful of countries commonly referred to as “OFAC countries” or “embargoed destinations”—a few of the most widely known in recent years have been Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, and Syria—to whom comprehensive trade sanctions, administered by OFAC, have been applied. In other cases, the economic sanctions have taken a variety of forms, including arms embargoes, capital restraints, asset freezes, and trade restrictions.
Has OFAC been around for a long time? As an arm of the Treasury Department that sets out and enforces trade sanctions issued by the U.S. Government, OFAC is arguably one of the oldest law enforcement agencies in the country. It dates back prior to the War of 1812, when Treasury was first authorized to administer U.S. economic sanctions imposed against a hostile foreign power—in that case, Great Britain, which was harassing American sailors. In more recent times, between 1940 and 1947, Foreign Funds Control (FFC) and the Office of International Finance (OIF) were established as units of the Treasury Department, with legal authority deriving from the Trading with the Enemy Act (TWEA). FFC administered controls over enemy assets and restrictions on trade with enemy states during World War II. It was abolished in 1947, and its functions were transferred to the OIF. In 1950, the OIF morphed into the Division of Foreign Assets Control, when President Truman declared a national emergency and blocked all Chinese and North Korean assets subject to U.S. jurisdiction following the entry of the People’s Republic of China into the Korean War. In 1962, the Treasury Department changed the agency’s name to OFAC.
How critical is OFAC compliance? Absolutely critical. Understanding and monitoring OFAC compliance is a must for U.S. businesses who have foreign suppliers, customers, or clients, or who work with overseas partners. Exporters and importers who are “U.S. persons”—a regulatory term that should be well known to any compliance officer acquainted with the ITAR—are responsible for following OFAC regulations designed to halt terrorist and other illegal funds from circulating. In certain cases, foreign subsidiaries owned by U.S. companies and foreign persons in possession of U.S.-origin goods are also required to comply. So, if you are a small business owner or an individual doing business overseas, you need to familiarize yourself with OFAC. And if you are a company officer or manager in an industry with significant foreign trade, you need to make sure that OFAC compliance is an essential component of your corporate compliance program.
Penalties for violating the regulations administered by OFAC are serious, and have grown even more serious in the last few years. Depending on the sanctions program, potential criminal penalties for willful violations include fines ranging up to $20 million and imprisonment of up to 30 years. Civil penalties for violations of the Trading With the Enemy Act (TWEA) can be as much as $65,000 for each violation. Civil penalties for violations of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) can range up to $250,000 for each violation, or twice the gain from the violation, whichever is greater. Over the past several years, the number and monetary value of enforcement actions by OFAC have increased dramatically: civil penalties and settlements rose from about $3.5 million in 2008 to more than $1.2 billion in 2014. These are not penalties that can simply be written off as “the cost of doing business”!
Yet OFAC compliance is the most commonly misunderstood and most likely to be forgotten element in corporate export compliance programs. Discussions of U.S. export controls are frequently dominated by and focused on ensuring compliance with the ITAR and EAR, while OFAC regulations are overlooked or undervalued. Yet OFAC rules generally override all other export controls, and OFAC restrictions may apply even when an EAR license exception or ITAR exemption is available.
The widespread tendency to underestimate the importance of monitoring OFAC compliance is especially problematic because OFAC’s programs are dynamic: the embargoes and sanctions, the scope and details of the restrictions, and the names on the SDN List and other lists change very frequently. What is more, new lists may appear at any time, as U.S. foreign policy refocuses in response to a rapidly changing world scene—witness the Sectoral Sanctions Identification List (“SSI List”) that OFAC issued in 2014, targeting transactions with persons in four sectors of the Russian economy: financial services, energy, defense, and mining. It is essential therefore that exporters check the Treasury web site frequently and have the necessary processes and internal controls in place to monitor compliance continuously. Firms with weak processes and controls limit their ability to prevent violations, or to detect and quickly deal with them if they do occur. They run significant risks of heavy fines and other damaging consequences.
In Part Two of this post, we’ll take a look at the three kinds of OFAC export authorizations available to U.S. companies—Exemptions, General Licenses, and Special Licenses, explain when you may need an OFAC Special License and how you can apply for one, and clear up a couple of common misconceptions. (No, OFAC requirements don’t impact only banks and financial institutions!)
In Part Three, we’ll look at the essential ingredients of a robust corporate OFAC compliance program. (Hint: simply checking your customers’ names and addresses against the SDN List is not enough!)
In today’s challenging international environment, the economic and trade sanctions administered by OFAC are likely to play a larger and larger role in cross-border transactions. It will be important for U.S. exporters to understand these controls thoroughly and keep abreast of changing requirements in order to focus on maintaining full compliance. The Export Compliance Solutions Training Academy provides a variety of training options—including 2-day regional seminars, in-house training, and live web-based seminars—that afford comprehensive coverage of ITAR, EAR, and OFAC controls, supplemented by case studies, practical advice, and help with strategic planning for your business. Check out the information on our web site about course offerings and online video training in export compliance awareness for your employees. Contact us by phone or e-mail to learn more. The ECS staff represents the most recognized expertise in the compliance field. We’re here to help!