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OFAC implements new civil penalty amounts

The Office of Foreign Assets Control is authorized by law to periodically adjust its civil penalty amounts for violations of various foreign financial transaction controls.

   The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control has implemented new civil penalty amounts for violations of various foreign financial transaction controls.
   The agency is authorized to adjust its penalty amounts in line with inflation under the 1990 Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act, as amended by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015. 
   The maximum civil penalty for violating the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act has increased from $1,466,485 per violation to $1,503,470 per violation.
   OFAC increased the maximum civil penalty amount for violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act from $295,141 per violation to $302,584 per violation.
   Other civil penalty amounts raised by the agency include Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act ($77,909 to $79,874) and Clean Diamond Trade Act ($13,333 to $13,699). However, the civil penalty amount for Trading With the Enemy Act was reduced from $89,976 to $89,170.
   These new penalty amounts took effect Friday upon publication in the Federal Register.

Chris Gillis

Located in the Washington, D.C. area, Chris Gillis primarily reports on regulatory and legislative topics that impact cross-border trade. He joined American Shipper in 1994, shortly after graduating from Mount St. Mary’s College in Emmitsburg, Md., with a degree in international business and economics.