Enforcement Release: October 1, 2020
OFAC Enters $5,864,860 Settlement with Generali Global Assistance, Inc. for Apparent Violations of the Cuban Assets Control Regulations
Generali Global Assistance, Inc. (GGA), a New York-incorporated travel assistance services company that provides travel and claims services on behalf of clients that offer global medical expense and travel insurance policies, has agreed to remit $5,864,860 to settle its potential civil liability for 2,593 apparent violations of the Cuban Assets Control Regulations (“CACR”), 31 C.F.R. Part 515 (the “Apparent Violations”). GGA intentionally referred the Cuba-related payments to its Canadian affiliate, thereby avoiding processing reimbursement payments directly to Cuban parties and to travelers while they were located in Cuba. GGA then subsequently reimbursed its Canadian affiliate for those payments. GGA formally codified this indirect payment process in its procedures manual.
Description of the Apparent Violations and the Conduct Leading to the Apparent...
1) BASIS FOR LIABILITY
From a legal basis standpoint, the "Generali Global Assistance, Inc." is fairly straightforward. Generali Global Assistance, Inc. (GGA) is a U.S. person that is a "Person subject to the jurisdiction of the United States" within the meaning of 515.329(c) of the CACR. As such, GGA was prohibited from engaging in or otherwise facilitating any transaction related to otherwise unlicensed travel to Cuba. We assume that the Canadian “affiliate” was not a person subject to the jurisdiction of the U.S. within the meaning of 515.329(d)—e.g. because it was “owned or controlled” by GGA—because if it were, that Canadian entity would have typically been named as having committed violations of the CACR in addition to GGA. While OFAC interprets the term “control” broadly for the purposes of 515.329(d), it is not so broad as to extend to all...