2015 OFAC Sanction, Related Export Control Violations and Enforcement Trends: Best Practices for Preventing Violations

Why Should You Attend:

The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Department of the Treasury implements and enforces economic and trade sanctions. Such sanctions are based on US foreign policy and national security goals and involve the imposition of:

• Controls on certain transactions
• Asset freezes that are subject to U.S. jurisdiction

These sanctions target certain foreign countries, regimes, terrorists, international narcotics traffickers as well as those engaged in activities related to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. The OFAC requirements change, through authority under presidential national emergency powers and through specific legislation, as frequently as world crises develop.

This webinar will review and discuss:

• 2015 OFAC enforcement trends (including imposing penalties rivaling FCPA enforcement)
• Best practices for preventing OFAC and related export control violations
• Measures to gauge the proper level of due diligence
• An enforcement trend analysis covering big cases such as Schlumberger, PNB Paribas, Commerzbank and Weatherford to offer participants an understanding of precautions to take
• Export Control General Prohibition 10
• Particular red flags relevant to prevent related export control violations that often evolve into OFAC violations

Areas Covered in the Webinar:

• What are the up-to-date developments regarding OFAC sanctions and how to brace for them?
• What are the new war chest of punitive measures being deployed respecting the Ukraine/Russian sanctions and how to deal with them?
• What are some of the recent and illustrative enforcement trends and lessons to be learned from key cases?
• PNB Paribas
• Commerzbank
• Weatherford
• Schlumberger
• What are the red flags that a diversion with potential OFAC violations will take place? How to manage them?
• Why is General Prohibition 10 so important to understand in the context of preventing OFAC violations?
• Based on the sanctions and enforcement trends as well as on key red flags and General Prohibition 10, how can one implement the latest best practices to avoid future violations?
• How can one best gauge the proper level of due diligence to undertake – i.e., when has one done enough?

Who Will Benefit:

• Risk/compliance managers and officers
• CFOs
• Compliance counsel
• Internal audit staff
• Finance directors and managers
• Accounts receivable personnel
• Accounts payable personnel
• Import/export compliance and logistics personnel
• Supply chain personnel
• Sales personnel
• Legal department personnel
• Regulators
• Any entity or person engaged in international trade
• Inside counsel

Instructor Profile:

Robert J. Ward, Jr. has been practicing law for over 27 years. His focus has been on international trade strategic and compliance issues for most of his career, including establishing an FCPA and UK Bribery Act compliance program for the world’s largest maritime services company. In addition to holding a law license since 1987 in the State of Texas, Mr. Ward is a licensed U.S. Customs Broker, a Certified Fraud Examiner, a Certified Compliance and Ethics Professional as well as a Certified U.S. Export Compliance Officer.

He holds a B.A. from the University of Notre Dame; a J.D., cum laude, from Tulane Law School (including one year of legal studies in Germany on scholarship); and an LL.M. degree from the University of Houston Law Center.

Topic Background:

Indeed, General Prohibition 10 is a trap for the unwary that requires solid understanding to avoid personal liability let alone corporate liability. Working through the recent big cases, reviewing the red flags as well as understanding General Prohibition 10 will all lay the groundwork for concluding with best practice recommendations for avoiding future violations as well as to gauge the proper level of due diligence to conduct.

Follow us :