Sanctions Enforcement and Compliance: A Practitioner’s Guide to OFAC

The 2019 edition of Sanctions Enforcement and Compliance: A Practitioner’s Guide to OFAC authored by Kirkland & Ellis partners Michael S. Casey and Zachary S. Brez, P.C. was published in December 2019 as part of Bloomberg BNA’s Banking Practice Portfolio Series.

During the last decade, the U.S. government unveiled a dizzying array of sanctions programs, including new list-based sanctions, complex secondary sanctions, and unprecedented secondary sanctions. Comprehending and complying with these sanctions programs is more difficult than ever before. The treatise highlights and explains U.S. sanctions issues that are most important to private equity sponsors, companies, and financial institutions. In particular, the treatise contains a detailed overview of the U.S. sanctions, describes notable recent enforcement actions and future enforcement trends, and provides guidance on best practices related to sanctions compliance.

Topics covered include:

• An overview of the U.S. sanctions regime, including primary sanctions, secondary sanctions, and sectoral sanctions.
• A description of specific U.S. sanction programs, including the recently re-imposed secondary sanctions directed at Iran and the novel Venezuelan sanctions.
• Recent trends in OFAC enforcement actions, including OFAC’s increasingly aggressive theories of liability.
• Summaries of the most significant multi-agency sanctions enforcement actions brought against financial institution and operating companies.
• Details of OFAC’s expectations for and industry best practices regarding corporate sanctions compliance programs.
• An explanation of how U.S. sanctions relate to anti-corruption laws, export controls, anti-money laundering laws, and sanctions programs administered by other governments.