Sanctions: The Makers and the Breakers

John Smith was a guest on Euromoney Podcasts: Treasury and Turbulence, where he discussed what it was like to work at the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and how investigations into sanctions violations usually start.

“An investigation can begin with classified information that OFAC receives from law enforcement, intelligence agencies, and foreign governments,” said John. “Probably the most common is through voluntary self-disclosures from banks or other global companies that come into OFAC and say they made a mistake. One party may come in, but there may be nine other companies that are somehow involved in the transaction chain. Another way is blocking or reject reports.”

Listen to the podcast.