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Takeaways from sanctions enforcement in 2020 and trends in 2021
Journal of Financial Compliance,
5
(2),
123-133
(2021)
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic years of 2020 and 2021 have by no means been record setting for sanctions enforcement, yet reliance on economic sanctions as a tool of foreign policy remains high for policymakers and regulators on both sides of the Atlantic. In the United States, recent enforcement has seen a reprieve from the very large penalties paid by large financial institutions in prior years. In the United Kingdom, regulators brought only one sanctions-related enforcement action (which targeted the dealings of one of the country’s largest banks) in 2020. Thus far, penalties in 2021, both in number and amount, are similar to those of 2020. Through an examination of these enforcement actions as well as formal regulatory guidance, legal, compliance and risk departments can draw a number of lessons to improve the effectiveness of their organisations’ sanctions compliance efforts. Just as importantly, anticipating the sanctions landscape for the second half of 2021 and beyond can help to avoid surprises and maintain a robust risk-based sanctions compliance programme.
Keywords: Sanctions; OFAC; OFSI; Biden administration; Brexit
The full article is available to subscribers to the journal.
Author's Biography
Jodi Avergun is Chair of the firm’s White Collar Defense and Investigations Group. Her practice focuses on representing corporations and individuals in criminal and regulatory matters involving, among other things, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, Economic Sanctions, securities enforcement, health care and general white collar matters. Jodi has successfully represented both companies and senior executives in internal investigations, matters before regulatory bodies including the SEC and the US Drug Enforcement Administration, and in civil and criminal matters in federal court. She counts among her clients companies throughout the entire supply chain, as well as private equity firms that invest in the pharmaceutical space. She is the former Chief of the Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section of DOJ’s Criminal Division and the former Chief of Staff of the DEA. She is also a former federal prosecutor, having been an AUSA in the Eastern District of New York for more than a decade. Jodi has been recognised as a global leader in her practice by a number of organisations and rankings and has contributed to leading treatises in her areas of expertise.
James Treanor focuses his practice on white collar crime, with an emphasis on complex civil and criminal matters and regulatory issues, including those arising under US economic sanctions, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), securities fraud laws and anti-money laundering statutes. James regularly represents corporate clients in complex independent and internal investigations around the world involving US criminal and civil authorities, as well as foreign law enforcement. In addition, James assists corporations in conducting global compliance programme reviews, and in the development, implementation, and testing of compliance policies and procedures. His global practice has included matters in a number of jurisdictions. James has particular expertise in China and the former Soviet Union, and utilises his knowledge of Mandarin Chinese and Russian languages in his practice.
Shruti Chandhok is an associate in Cadwalader’s White Collar Defense and Investigations Group, resident in the London office. She specialises in advising a range of corporations, in a number of jurisdictions, with internal corporate investigations, compliance counselling, global risk assessment, sanctions advice and representing individuals subject to internal regulatory and criminal investigation. Shruti has advised individuals and corporates in relation to prosecution in the UK by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI), and in the USA, the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). She has experience advising clients in relation to sanctions issues, complex commercial litigations and insolvency claims involving complex financial products in a number of sectors and jurisdictions.
