Following allegations that the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK, or more commonly, North Korea) was involved in certain cyber-terrorist activities involving Sony Pictures, President Obama moved on Friday, January 2 to add to the North Korean sanctions regime by…
U.S. Sanctions Regulations Blog
Tracking Developments in U.S. and other International Sanctions Regulations
Blog Archives
Obama Makes Breakthrough Policy Shift on Cuba Embargo and Relations
President Barack Obama today announced a major policy shift making a significant turn in an over half-century theme in U.S. Cuba relations. This change will bring about a vastly different landscape in bilateral relations and therefore the nature of the U.S.…
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Iran: Open for Business on November 25?
There have been many mixed signals on the current status of the nuclear negotiations between Iran and the five permanent UN Security Council members and Germany. Some say the deal is almost done, others say there may be an extension.…
Standard Chartered in Sanctions Trouble Again?
Reuters carried a story Sunday about the Office of the U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of New York (SDNY) investigating London-based Standard Chartered bank (known by many as “StanChart”) for potential violations of U.S. sanctions against Iran. According to…
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OFAC Issues Much Needed Guidance on Humanitarian Assistance
Moments ago, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) released a two page primer on its position on humanitarian assistance to sanctioned jurisdictions. Although this document is not binding in the sense that it is…
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US Sanctions More Iran-Related Entities
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) made a sweeping set of designations on dozens of entities related to Iranian networks on Friday (August 29). These include banks and individuals, including the following: 1. Asia…
Phase in of the Russia Sanctions Program: How it Really Impacts Business
As can be expected and as is surely the case with other firms who practice sanctions law, Russia is becoming a larger part of our every day work. Granted, the sanctions regime against Russia following the Crimea and Ukraine crises…
Iran / P5+1 Talks Extended till November: What does it mean for sanctions?
The so-called P5+1 and Iran have decided to extend talks on Iran’s nuclear program for another four months – extending the deadline (which would have been today) till November. What this effectively means is that the sanctions relief afforded Iran…
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Billion Dollar U.S. Energy Investment in Iran?
For those of us who regularly read the headlines about Iran, there was a particularly interesting one that stuck out today – one (reported by the Tehran Times and reposted by other media) about a U.S. company in Southern California…
The New IRS Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program and US Sanctions on Iranian Bank Accounts
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced last week that it was further incentivizing the self-disclosure by U.S. taxpayers of offshore financial assets and accounts not previously reported. Specifically, the IRS modified the 2012 Overseas Voluntary Disclosure Program (OVDP) effective July…
U.S. Sanctions Regulations Blog 