US Dietary Supplement Maker Discloses Possible Sanctions, Export Control Violations
Nature’s Sunshine Products, a dietary supplement manufacturer headquartered in Utah, may have violated U.S. sanctions and export controls, it disclosed this month.
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The company submitted a voluntary self-disclosure to the Office of Foreign Assets Control in April and a separate disclosure to the Bureau of Industry and Security in November, it said in its most recent SEC filing released last week. It made the disclosures after an “internal investigation regarding our past compliance with relevant U.S. trade controls.”
Any potential violations being investigated represent “less than one percent of our net revenue in each of our last three fiscal years,” the company said. It added that it could face fines or other penalties if BIS or OFAC determines the business violated U.S. laws. “While we believe the amount of any fines or penalties would not be material to our financial condition and results of operation, we are unable to predict the outcome or to reasonably estimate the time it may take to resolve these matters.”
Nature’s Sunshine Products also said it has “policies and procedures in these areas,” but “we cannot assure you that our policies and procedures are sufficient or that directors, officers, employees, representatives, manufacturers, suppliers and agents have not engaged and will not engage in conduct in violation of such policies and procedures.”
The company didn’t provide more details about the possible violations, but it disclosed in the SEC filing that it has some business touchpoints with Russia. “Our consultants in our Eastern Europe market, a market within our Europe business segment that includes Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and other Common Independent States in the region, continue to operate their independent businesses, albeit at a reduced level than prior to the start of” Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, it said. “We expect that this will continue to impact our business for the foreseeable future.”