Mr. Watchlist’s DesigNation

I know it’s been a while… today’s episode is about the OFAC Chinese Military Companies Sanctions program, how it confused a whole lot of us, and how the new Executive Order (14032) makes it a lot easier to understand, and comply with.

So, SAP got slapped on the wrist with a $2.1 million dollar fine for some pretty reckless behavior. And it was larger than the $1.3 million base penalty - but OFAC called the violations non-egregious. Huh?

Turns out that OFAC defines what makes a violation egregious - so, let’s look at it, and compare what SAP did to, say, Nordgas S.r.l. did. Here’s a hint: Nordgas’ violations were considered egregious.

As always, I have thoughts on all this…

Today, an extensive Executive Order greatly expanded the potential sanctions on the Russian government, its companies and its people. The E.O. also centralized sanctions that had existed elsewhere, like the cyber sanctions and the foreign election interference sanctions. And that has some real advantages.

Listen to what was in today’s action, and what I think about it.

We now know who one of UniControl’s European trade partners were... and they were bad, bad partners (at least from a compliance perspective). But, we can now reconsider the UniControl enforcement action in a fresh light - and actually learn something useful!

Monday’s OFAC enforcement action against UniControl? Good idea, poor execution. Would a reasonable person have connected the dots the way OFAC seems to expect? Hmmm... listen and decide for yourself.

The US released a report on the 2018 murder of Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi Arabian operatives on Friday, blaming “MBS”, the Crown Prince. And visa restrictions under the Immigration and Nationality Act were imposed on 76 Saudis, and a former official and the Rapid Intervention Force were sanctioned by OFAC - but no actions were taken against MBS himself. What’s up with that? Listen to this episode to hear what I think of it.

Something a little off the beaten path today... welcome to Withhold Release Orders, or WROs, something that the US does to bar certain imports from entering the country. They were in the news last year because some were issued for goods coming from the Xinjiang region of China ... maybe that will give you a hint what WROs are used for...

Sorry for the long layoff - I’m baaaack!

The question of the day: why was the settlement that BitPay Inc. made with OFAC was so large compared to the amount of business involved? I have a guess - see if you agree with me...

First, the good news.. the backing track during the monologue is gone, and I’ve tweaked a few things to improve the audio quality.

Now, the bad news: OFAC issued a General License late Friday for the Chinese Military Companies sanctions program, and it’s worth talking about, since it largely fixes a problem they created with a recent Frequently Asked Question that contradicted other regulation and guidance. So, while the point of the episode the importance of reviewing what’s issued and providing feedback so people fix their mistakes.... it does mean we’re covering this program again.

Sorry... maybe if they leave it alone for a few months, I’ll stop talking about it so much....

OK... I cheated just a tad. This one’s a little over 16 minutes. My apologies... but I think it’s worth it.

OFSI, the UK’s sanctions administrator (and enforcer) has issued its very first General License under its post-Brexit Russia Regulations. I go over the license, which has some neat features, and the Regulations - I think it raises some questions but, in general. Is really nice in terms of details and documentation of license usage (which is OFAC only does on a relatively limited basis).

Happy 2021, everyone - enjoy! Promise to get back to my 15 minute self-imposed limit next episode.