The first quarter of 2013 was marked by various efforts by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Asset Control (“OFAC”) to provide some much-needed guidance and support to persons attempting to comply with ever more complicated US sanctions, including the launch of an updated online search tool. Meanwhile, previously existing exceptions to the Iranian sanctions regime narrowed even further, and OFAC continued to crack down on foreign sanctions evaders. OFAC and the State Department also renewed efforts to use sanctions to curb North Korea’s proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and to bolster counterterrorism efforts around the globe. Finally, US policies toward the Burmese regime and Syrian opposition forces continued to shift, with new licenses authorizing certain previously prohibited transfers of funds.
View full memo, "Sanctions Round Up: First Quarter 2013"
