Enforcement Release: August 27, 2021
OFAC Enters Into $862,318 Settlement with First Bank SA and JC Flowers & Co. for Apparent Violations of Iran and Syria Sanctions Programs
First Bank SA, located in Romania, and its U.S. parent company, JC Flowers & Co. (collectively, “Respondent”), have agreed to remit $862,318 to settle potential civil liability for First Bank’s processing of transactions in apparent violation of OFAC’s Iran and Syria sanctions programs. Specifically, First Bank processed 98 commercial transactions totaling $3,589,189 through U.S. banks on behalf of parties located in Iran and Syria. In 2018, after JC Flowers acquired a majority ownership interest in First Bank, First Bank processed Euro-denominated payments for persons located in Iran. The settlement amount reflects OFAC’s determination that the Respondent’s apparent violations were voluntarily self-disclosed and non-egregious.
Description of the Conduct Leading to the Apparent Violations
In early...
1) FULL VOLUNTARY DISCLOSURE CREDIT FOR ENTITIES SUBJECT TO THE ITSR AS A RESULT OF 560.215
The Economic Sanctions Enforcement Guidelines at Appendix A to Part 501 define “Voluntary self-disclosure” to mean
“self-initiated notification to OFAC of an apparent violation by a Subject Person that has committed, or otherwise participated in, an apparent violation of a statute, Executive order, or regulation administered or enforced by OFAC, prior to or at the same time that OFAC, or any other federal, state, or local government agency or official, discovers the apparent violation or another substantially similar apparent violation.”
Up through this enforcement release, it was unclear whether, in the case of a U.S.-owned or -controlled entity subject to the ITSR as a result of 560.215,...