The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned two people involved in Myanmar’s military coup carried out earlier this month, OFAC said Feb. 22. The designations target Moe Myint Tun and Maung Maung Kyaw, who the State Department said are members of Myanmar's State Administrative Council. The move follows previous U.S. sanctions imposed on Myanmar this month, along with increased export restrictions (see 2102110020).
OFAC sanction activity
The Office of Foreign Assets Control updated two sanctions entries for a Russian entity and a vessel involved in the construction of the Russian gas pipeline Nord Stream 2 (see 2101190018), according to a Feb. 22 notice. The agency added identifying information for the entries and other sanctions information. OFAC didn’t comment on the update.
An American animal pharmaceutical company may have violated U.S. sanctions after acquiring a company that illegally sold goods to Iran, Zoetis disclosed in a Feb. 16 Securities and Exchange Commission filing. Zoetis said it acquired Platinum Performance in August 2019 and soon discovered that Platinum had sold food, medicine or “devices” to people or entities with ties to Iran, adding that the sales were not approved by a Treasury Department general license. Zoetis submitted an initial voluntary disclosure to the Office of Foreign Assets Control in February 2020 while it conducted an internal investigation, and in December 2020 submitted a final disclosure to both OFAC and the Justice Department. The agencies have said they don't comment on ongoing investigations.
A Treasury Department spokesperson declined to say whether a decrease in sanctions settlements from 2019 to 2020 was due to issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, saying sanctions investigations are completed on a “variety of timelines.” The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control “takes its enforcement activities very seriously, and treats every matter with the care and due diligence that it deserves,” the spokesperson said in a Feb. 17 email. “These cases don’t always follow a set schedule, and we finalize cases when they’re ready and when we have all the facts and documentation necessary to draw the appropriate conclusion and finding.” The agency in 2019 settled 26 cases worth nearly $1.3 billion, compared with 16 cases totaling $23 million in 2020 (see 2102120061).
An Atlanta-based Bitcoin service provider was fined more than $500,000 for allowing people in sanctioned countries to use its services. BitPay committed more than 2,000 sanctions violations when it allowed people in Cuba, North Korea, Iran, Sudan, Syria and the Crimea region of Ukraine to use digital currency on the company’s platform to transact with U.S. parties, the Office of Foreign Assets Control said Feb. 18. The company allowed the transactions even though it had information that revealed the people were located in sanctioned regions, OFAC said, adding that “deficiencies” in the company’s compliance program led to the violations. The agency said BitPay allowed $129,000 worth of digital currency transactions that should have been blocked.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control deleted several designations, revoked five general licenses and removed three frequently asked questions from its website to reflect the State Department’s decision last week to revoke the terrorist designation of Ansarallah (see 2102100016). The changes, which took effect Feb. 16, rescinded several general licenses that authorized humanitarian-related trade and other transactions with Yemen and Ansarallah, the Iran-backed Houthi movement (see 2101250043 and 2101190016). OFAC clarified that U.S. people and companies no longer require OFAC authorization “to engage in transactions or activities with Ansarallah, provided such activities do not involve blocked persons or otherwise prohibited activities.”
Although the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control saw a decrease in total sanctions settlements last year, the agency increased its output of sanctions guidance and advisories, shedding more light on OFAC’s compliance expectations, sanctions lawyers said. Lawyers also said the agency flexed its enforcement jurisdiction by pursuing penalties against a variety of industries beyond large commercial banks, a trend that should continue this year.
The U.S. on Feb. 11 announced sanctions and export controls targeting the Myanmar military, defense ministry and security services after it carried out a coup earlier this month (see 2102100060). The White House also issued an executive order outlining a new Myanmar sanctions regime and said more restrictions will be imposed “in the coming days.”
Andrea Delisi, former assistant chief counsel in the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control, joined Morrison & Foerster in its National Security and Global Risk + Crisis Management groups, the firm announced Feb. 10. She previously advised OFAC on legal issues including the office's economic sanctions programs involving Venezuela, Syria, Iran, human rights, corruption and terrorism.
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