OFAC UPDATES SDN AND BLOCKED PERSONS LIST
April 14, 2015
This month, the Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Asset Controls (OFAC) made significant changes to its list of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN List). The changes included new designations under the Kingpin Act and removals of certain Cuban interests. OFAC, in its efforts to enforce the U.S. sanctions regime, regularly publishes a list of individuals and companies that are owned or controlled by targeted countries, as well as individuals, groups, and entities (e.g., terrorists and drug trafficking organizations). The assets of entities included on the SDN List are blocked, and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from dealing with them.
OFAC’s recent additions to the SDN List were made under the Kingpin Act, which became law on December 3, 1999. According to OFAC, the Act’s “purpose is to deny significant foreign narcotics traffickers, their related businesses, and their operatives access to the U.S. financial system and to prohibit all trade and transactions between the traffickers and U.S. companies and individuals.” Entities removed from the list were de-listed in response to the U.S. Government’s easing of certain sanctions against Cuba including, notably, some travel restrictions.
The latest version of the SDN list is available at: https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/SDN-List/Pages/default.aspx
If you have any questions, please contact Evelyn Sahr (esahr@eckertseamans.com, 202-659-6622) or Drew Derco (dderco@eckertseamans.com, 202-659-6665).