Last June, the Department of the Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) amended the Reporting, Procedures and Penalties Regulations, updating instructions and adding new requirements. According to the news release published June 20, 2019, the amended rule “revises the licensing procedures section to include information regarding OFAC’s electronic license application procedures, and to provide additional instructions regarding applications for the release of blocked funds; and clarifies the rules governing the availability of information under federal law, including the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), for information that is submitted to OFAC in connection with blocking or unblocking reports, reports on rejected transactions, or license applications.”[1]
The new clarifications include an answer to the frequently asked questions, “Is the June 21, 2019, amendment to the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)’s Reporting, Procedures and Penalties Regulations in effect? Am I required to comply with all requirements of the amended regulations?”[2]
The amended regulation is in effect, and OFAC “expects all U.S. persons and persons otherwise subject to U.S. jurisdiction, including parties that are not U.S. financial institutions, to comply fully with all requirements of this rule, including the expanded requirement in Section 501.604 of the RPPR to provide reports to OFAC regarding rejected transactions within 10 business days of the rejected transaction.”