Enforcement Release - Payward, Inc. d/b/a Kraken

Date issued: Nov. 28 2022

You've hit a wall. Sign in if you have an account, or learn more about TURBOFAC and subscription options.
TURBOFAC is a module of the compliance platform OverRuled. To learn more about OverRuled, visit www.overruled.com.

TURBOFAC Commentary (248 words)

Notes:

1) The Payward, Inc. d/b/a Kraken enforcement action differs from the three cryptocurrency-related ones that precede it (Bittrex, Inc., BitPay, Inc and BitGo, Inc.) in that it only invoices one sanctions program, instead of five or six. As is common for genre, OFAC finds violations on the basis of services provided to persons with Iran-associated IP addresses, i.e. persons presumed to be "in" (even if not necessarily "ordinarily resident" in Iran). OFAC notable states that the individuals "appeared to have been located in Iran at the time of the transactions," recognizing that IP addresses alone are not necessarily definitive proof of location (but good enough to establish a functionally irrebuttable presumption of physical presence in Iran).

2) This appears to be the first time that OFAC reports a forward-looking compliance spending pledge in an enforcement release. Mitigating factors are fairly common for the...