An Indonesian paper product manufacturer settled for more than $1 million after apparent violations of U.S. sanctions against North Korea, the Office of Foreign Assets Control said Jan. 14. OFAC said PT Bukit Muria Jaya (BMJ) exported cigarette paper to North Korea and “directed payments” for those exports to its U.S. dollar bank account at a non-U.S. bank, causing U.S. banks to “clear wire transfers related to these shipments,” which included shipments to a sanctioned North Korean person.
The U.S. charged three Iranian nationals for illegal smuggling activities, including a scheme to illegally export U.S. goods to Iran, the Justice Department said Jan. 12. The three people -- Arash Yousefi Jam, Amin Yousefi Jam and Abdollah Momeni Roustani -- were charged with violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations.
The United Kingdom issued four penalties against companies for violating U.K. money-laundering regulations this year, including the largest-ever fine issued by the country’s revenue and customs agency, a Jan. 7 news release said. The fines include a record $32 million-equivalent penalty against MT Global Ltd Money Service Business, a money-transfer company, the U.K. said. The other penalties include a fine worth about $9,000 against Robert Holmes & Co., a fine worth about $7,000 against Landmark Sales and Lettings Ltd Estate Agency Business and a fine worth about $3,300 against Company Address Services Ltd Trust or Company Service Provider. The penalties stem from due diligence and risk assessment “failures” relating to money-laundering violations. The U.K. also published a list of 13 companies with suspended or canceled business registrations due to violations.
The U.S. seized $7 million in Iranian funds related to a “complex international conspiracy” to violate U.S. sanctions against Iran, the Justice Department said Jan. 5. The conspiracy involved the transfer of about $1 billion worth of Iranian funds to accounts around the world, the agency said. The money was intended to finance terrorism, it said.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control accepted a settlement from a French bank of than $8.5 million for apparent violations U.S. sanctions against Syria, OFAC said in a Jan. 4 notice. Union de Banques Arabes et Françaises (UBAF) operated U.S. dollar accounts for Syrian financial institutions and “indirectly conducted USD business” for those accounts on behalf of the institutions through the U.S. financial system, OFAC said. UBAF agreed to remit $8,572,500 to settle its potential civil liability for 127 “apparent violations.”
The Office of Foreign Assets Control fined a California technology company nearly $100,000 for sanctions violations, a Dec. 30 Treasury Department notice said. It said BitGo committed 183 violations of U.S. sanctions programs when it allowed people in Cuba, Iran, Sudan, Syria and Ukraine's Crimea region to use its “non-custodial secure digital wallet management service.” The company “had reason to know” the people sanctioned countries were using BitGo’s services, OFAC said, but “failed to implement controls” to prevent the violations.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control fined a Saudi bank more than $650,000 for violating U.S. sanctions against Sudan and Syria, a Dec. 28 notice said. OFAC said Saudi Arabia-based National Commercial Bank (NCB) illegally processed 13 transactions worth nearly $6 million.
A Russian citizen and two Bulgarians were charged with violating U.S. export controls after they used a Bulgarian company to illegally ship controlled items to Russia, the Department of Justice said Dec. 18. Russian national Ilias Sabirov and Bulgarian nationals Dimitar Dimitrov and Milan Dimitrov used Bulgarian company Multi Technology Integration Group EEOD (MTIG) to export the items, which included various electronic components. All three men were added to the Entity List last week (see 2012180039).
A United Kingdom national was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison after pleading guilty to attempting to export a gas turbine to Iran (see 2009020056), the Justice Department said Dec. 17. Colin Fisher was also fined $5,000 for the export violations, which included an attempt to buy a gas turbine from Florida-based Turbine Resources International on behalf of a company in the United Arab Emirates.
The U.S. affiliate of one of the world’s largest energy trading firms will pay more than $150 million in fines after it violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the Justice Department said Dec. 3. The company, Vitol Inc., paid millions of dollars in bribes to Brazilian officials and conspired to bribe officials in Ecuador and Mexico, the Justice Department said. The schemes involved fake consulting agreements, shell companies and more than $8 million in bribes.