OFAC Regulations

The Office of Foreign Assets Control Regulations, 31 C.F.R. §§ 500-598, are administered by the U.S. Department of the Treasury, through the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). OFAC regulates economic trade with foreign countries and administers the statutory economic trade sanctions and embargoes imposed on specific foreign countries based on foreign policy, national security concerns, or international treaty obligations. Sanctions range from partial to full trade embargoes and are imposed in addition to other U.S. export control law penalties. Information regarding sanctions currently in effect can be found at the OFAC website. OFAC regulations apply to all persons subject to U.S. jurisdiction. This includes American citizens and permanent resident aliens wherever they are located; any individual or entity located in the U.S.; corporations organized under U.S. laws, including foreign branches; and — solely in the case of Cuba — entities owned or controlled by any of the above (including foreign-organized subsidiaries of U.S. corporations). The regulations define prohibited transactions with foreign countries and set forth sanctions for engaging in such conduct. Such prohibited transactions include transactions involving designated foreign countries or their nationals; transactions with respect to securities registered or inscribed in the name of a designated national; importation of and dealings in certain merchandise; and holding certain types of blocked property in interest-bearing accounts. Persons subject to U.S. jurisdiction are also prohibited from dealing with specific entities or individuals known as “specially designated nationals,” found in the Specially Designated Nationals List (SDNL), appended to the OFAC regulations.