Know Your Sanctions Lists (Beyond the CSL) – OFAC Civil Penalties and Enforcement Information

Beyond the Consolidated Screening List, ECScreening provides data from a growing number of official U.S. and foreign government sanctions lists and other sources to bring useful information to subscribers. 

One of these lists, from the Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), is the OFAC Civil Penalties and Enforcement Information.  OFAC publishes the names and case information for individuals and entities determined to have committed violations of OFAC sanctions.

These cases typically involve a financial penalty and commitment to improved compliance.  In a recent example, Nordgas, S.r.l., agreed to a $950,000 civil settlement “for apparent violations of the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations (ITSR).”  Specifically, Nordgas knowingly exported US-origin air pressure switches to Iran.  OFAC published a four-page summary of the settlement and underlying conduct, including aggravating and mitigating factors that may also serve as a useful case study for export professionals. 

Settlement agreements serve as important background information for due diligence, highlighting weak export compliance areas that have already been identified.  In the Nordgas example, $650,000 of the settlement was suspended “pending satisfactory completion of Nordgas’s compliance commitments.”

If your screening process turns up OFAC Civil Penalties and Enforcement Information, it is important to review the published documents to determine whether the violation directly impacts a proposed transaction or is merely informative.  They may even indicate a company’s improved compliance program.