OFAC

The Federal Reserve of Philadelphia has taken action against Customers Bank, charging the institution with significant anti-money laundering and Bank Secrecy Act compliance failures. What Happened: According to the central bank’s filing, the Fed has found “significant deficiencies...

Federal authorities are investigating the cryptocurrency operations of Block, the company co-founded by Jack Dorsey. What Happened: Allegations suggest that Block’s crypto unit may have been involved in processing transactions linked to sanctioned nations and entities associated with...

The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the United States Treasury has included a new group of cryptocurrency wallets on its specially designated nationals (SDN) list.  What Happened: These wallets are linked to individuals and companies involved in the illegal fentanyl trade. The drug...

Cryptocurrency exchange Poloniex LLC agreed to pay a $7.6 million settlement to resolve charges of alleged sanctions violations. What Happened: According to the U.S. Department of Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), Poloniex engaged in 65,942 apparent violations of multiple...

Major cryptocurrency exchange Kraken is currently under investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over claims that it broke securities rules related to offerings made to American clients. Citing an anonymous source, Bloomberg reported the SEC probe was in its...

Oil and gas giant ExxonMobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) recently achieved what many in the export compliance profession thought would be impossible. It won a federal court case against the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to reverse a $2 million penalty for noncompliance. In...

The U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has blacklisted another six tankers operated by the Venezuelan government-controlled oil company Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PdVSA). OFAC said it has targeted Venezuelan oil shipments because the proceeds from the sales are...

In 2008, the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued "guidance" that precludes U.S. companies and individuals from conducting business with entities that are owned 50% by a sanctioned party.  Specifically, these sanctioned parties have been placed on OFAC's Specially...