The Treasury Department’s designation of a virtual currency mixer this week was a significant step toward combating financial cyber crime, and could lead to more effective actions against cyber criminals, including those operating out of North Korea, former FBI analyst Nick Carlsen said, speaking during a Center for a New American Security event this week. Carlsen also said the U.S. should work closer with South Korea, including through sanctions coordination, to better target North Korean financial crime.
The Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network should establish a no-action letter process, industry groups said, which would help provide better compliance guidance to banks and lead to better reporting. No-action letters, which are used by other enforcement agencies to indicate their intention not to take enforcement action against a party submitting a disclosure, could significantly improve industry’s understanding of FinCEN regulations and reduce compliance risks, the groups said.
The U.S. obtained a warrant to seize an airplane owned by sanctioned Russian oligarch Andrei Skoch, DOJ said Aug. 8. The agency said the Airbus A319-100 aircraft was designated by the Office of Foreign Assets Control in June and is owned by Skoch through a series of shell companies and trusts tied to his “romantic partner.” The aircraft is worth more than $90 million, DOJ said.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Aug. 8 sanctioned Tornado Cash, a virtual currency mixer that the agency said has been used to launder more than $7 billion worth of virtual currency since it was created in 2019. OFAC said the mixer has been used to launder money stolen by North Korea’s Lazarus Group and other criminal groups. Tornado cash operates on the “Ethereum blockchain” and “indiscriminately facilitates anonymous transactions by obfuscating their origin, destination, and counterparties, with no attempt to determine their origin,” OFAC said.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week published three previously issued general licenses in the Federal Register related to Syria, Iran and Venezuela (see 2206100030). The licenses, which expire June 17, 2023, authorize certain transactions related to goods and services for preventing, diagnosing or combating COVID-19.
Guillermo Christensen, former office managing partner at Ice Miller, has joined K&L Gates as a partner in the antitrust, competition and trade regulation practice, the firm announced. Christensen's practice centers on advising clients on matters involving economic sanctions, the Office of Foreign Assets Control, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. and export controls. In the past, Christensen has also represented clients in Foreign Corrupt Practices Act cases, OFAC investigations and voluntary disclosures. Before becoming a lawyer, Christensen worked for the CIA for 15 years in various assignments, including in interagency roles with the Defense and State departments.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control reissued three Russia-related general licenses Aug. 3 to clarify that the licenses apply to Joint Stock Company State Transportation Leasing Company. The Aug. 2 GLs (see 2208020032) omitted the word Leasing in the company’s name. The GLs are otherwise unchanged.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control issued a new round of sanctions targeting Kremlin-connected elites and businesses that generate "substantial revenue for the Russian regime, OFAC said in an Aug. 2 news release. Thirteen individuals, 36 entities and two vessels were added to OFAC's Speacially Designated Nationals List.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Aug. 1 added six companies and one vessel to its Specially Designated Nationals List for their involvement in the sale of Iranian petroleum and petrochemical products to East Asia.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control’s recent finding of a violation sent to Midfirst Bank can serve as useful insight into OFAC’s compliance expectations, various firms focusing on compliance said. The enforcement notice, which outlined several mistakes by the bank in its attempt to comply with U.S. sanctions, also represents a warning to companies with insufficient screening processes, the firms said.