The U.S Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has published guidance to aid members of the virtual currency industry (ranging from tech companies to brokers to users) in complying with OFAC requirements. OFAC defines “virtual currency” to encompass non-sovereign, non-fiat currencies that can be used as a store of value or as a medium of exchange—a category inclusive of most cryptocurrencies, including common tokens such as Bitcoin or Ether.… More
Tag Archives: OFAC
Ransomware Payments – OFAC Updates its Advisory and Congress Gets Involved
Ransomware payments continue to be a focus of the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”). As previously reported by Foley Hoag, on October 1, 2020, OFAC released an advisory regarding potential sanctions risks related to facilitating ransomware payments. Almost a year later, on September 21, 2021, OFAC updated its advisory to provide additional guidance regarding what OFAC considers to be mitigating factors if facilitating a ransomware payment results in an apparent violation of U.S.… More
Sanctions/Export Controls Trends in 2021
This is the second in our First 100 Days series examining important trends in white collar law and investigations in the early days of the Biden administration. Our previous entry discussed SEC enforcement. Up next, anti-corruption trends.
The recent change in administrations has generated much discussion about what to expect in the worlds of export controls and sanctions in 2021. In general,… More
White Collar Year in Preview: Sanctions/Export Controls Trends in 2020
This is the sixth in our start-of-year series examining important trends in white collar law and investigations in the coming year. Our previous entry discussed enforcement by the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office in 2020. Up next, our final entry in the 2020 preview series: a white-collar look at the Mueller investigation and the impeachment inquiry. … More