As U.S. officials and bankers debate the merits and drawbacks of an expected $10 billion sanctions settlement with BNP Paribas, their French counterparts are offering a more unified response: outrage.
The West's financial ties to Russia have given countries pause in considering further sanctions, a Roman judge dropped a money laundering case against the former head of the Vatican Bank and more, in this week's news roundup.
In announcing sanctions against Russian politicians and one bank Thursday, U.S. officials made clear that American financial institutions should prepare for more, and soon.
The financial clearing subsidiary of Deutsche Börse AG will pay the U.S. Treasury Department's sanctions enforcer $152 million for holding money in New York-based accounts on behalf of Iran's central bank.
The chairman of a Senate committee vowed Thursday to block additional sanctions against Iran in an effort to protect last month's multilateral accord to suspend portions of the country's nuclear program.
Banks that financed deals with subsidiaries of a blacklisted Beijing-based weapons manufacturer are likely to face increased scrutiny from the U.S. Treasury Department's sanctions enforcement arm, say analysts.
The U.S. Treasury Department finalized a decision Monday to discount voluntary self disclosures by sanctions violators in cases when third parties reveal the same information, despite financial institution concerns.
The U.S. Treasury Department is reorganizing its economic sanctions enforcement efforts to focus more on egregious violations that are subject to millions of dollars in penalties granted under a 2007 law.
Compliance officers at some of the world's largest financial institutions are concluding they need to create sanctions-specific programs to avoid regulatory penalties and tarnished reputations, according to a Deloitte survey released Monday.
The Obama administration is rethinking economic sanctions introduced under former President Bush and is likely to rollback some trade prohibitions as part of diplomatic negotiations, say former government officials.
U.S. sanctions regulators are planning to fine an Australian bank $20 million for allowing suspicious transactions in branches in New York and American Samoa, according to an Australian news report.
At least two cases making their way through U.S. federal courts are challenging the U.S. Treasury Department's power to sanction individuals and organizations.
The incoming Obama administration is likely to scale back limits on remittances to Cuba imposed by President Bush, a move that would be welcomed by the U.S. financial community, according to bank regulatory specialists.
The U.S. Treasury Department blacklisted a record number of individuals and organizations in fiscal year 2008, the same period when it lifted a record number of sanctions, a U.S. official said Thursday.
The U.S. Treasury Department identified or blocked $424 million in assets tied to terrorist organizations and states that sponsor them in 2007, according to government report released Thursday.
When Congress enacted a law last year that increased the potential penalties for violating economic sanctions by five-fold, financial institutions had one question: how would the new penalty powers be used? Sparingly, says OFAC Director Adam Szubin, in the second part of a two-part interview.
The U.S. Treasury Department outlined Monday how it intends to enforce new penalty powers against U.S. financial institutions and other companies that violate economic sanctions.
Online transactions tied to sanctioned countries could lead to monetary fines for individuals, businesses and banks, even when it's unclear that the Web sites involved are blacklisted, say former OFAC officials and consultants.
Betsy Sue Scott, former head of the civil penalties division, says a recent increase of the maximum fines for OFAC violations will better fit the punishment to the crime. Violators previously were only receiving a "slap on the wrist" for serious offenses, she says.
The law, enacted last week, increases civil penalty amounts fivefold but will be used chiefly in the enforcement of "major cases," an OFAC official said Monday.