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BANKING AND SECURITIES The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the U.S. Department of the Treasury administers and enforces a series of laws that impose economic and trade sanctions against targeted foreign countries and their agents, terrorism sponsoring organizations and agencies, and international narcotics traffickers based on U.S. foreign policy and national security goals. OFAC acts under Presidential wartime and national emergency powers, as well as authority granted by specific legislation, to impose controls on transactions and freeze foreign assets under U.S. jurisdiction. Many of the sanctions are based on United Nations and other international mandates, are multilateral in scope, and involve close cooperation with allied governments. Under these laws, financial institutions, securities firms, and insurance companies are obligated to block or "freeze" property and payment of any funds transfers or transactions and to report all blockings to OFAC within ten days of occurrence. Any institution in non-compliance is open to adverse publicity, fines, and even criminal penalties. New OFAC rules in force Most recently, as an extension of the U.S.A. Patriot Act, OFAC created new Rules impacting on financial institutions. The objective of these Rules is to eliminate the flow of funds in any form to terrorists [broadly referred to as "money laundering"]. These Rules require all U.S. financial institutions (banks, insurance companies, credit unions etc.) to screen new customers against federal lists of known and suspected terrorists, with an emphasis on Specially Designated Nationals (SDN). Responsibility for this process will be held at the executive level, and must be a component of an executive involved and approved plan. Specifically, Section 326 of the U.S.A. Patriot Act calls for the following: "(1) verifying the identity of any person seeking to open an account, to the extent reasonable and practicable; This means:
Related rules are also in effect for other large money-handling interests, such as lottery corporations and casinos. Mandatory screening Blocked Persons screening is mandatory under OFAC regulations. Under the banner of a sister website to Visual Compliance, Visual Banker gives you all the tools and content you need to make sure you and your company stays on the right side of the law, and contributes to U.S. national security — quickly, economically and efficiently.
Visual Banker provides the most comprehensive available service for or Denied Party Screening, including the following lists of particular pertinence to the new banking rules.
Alerts are provided for Money Laundering risk countries. Visual Banker Restricted Party Screening also covers all lists published by other government departments (principally the Bureau of Industry and Security [BIS] of the Department of Commerce, and the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls [DDTC] of the Department of State) for exports and munitions orders, as well as the U.S. General Services Administration List of Parties Excluded from Federal Procurement, Nonprocurement, and Reciprocal Programs, and the Office of Inspector General List of Entities Excluded from Federal Health and Medicare Programs. Broader definition of "Financial Institution" OFAC is not limited to banks. Insurance companies, securities and investment firms, and import/export trading companies are also subject to OFAC regulations. More specifically, Section 352 amends the definition of a financial institution to now include:
Call toll-free 1-877-328-7866 and talk to one of our global
trade compliance consultants. They'll help you analyze your requirements, evaluate
your options, and provide focused product demonstrations. Or send an email to
info@eCustoms.com. |
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