Settlements Don't Follow 'Set Schedule,' OFAC Says About 2020 Drop
A Treasury Department spokesperson declined to say whether a decrease in sanctions settlements from 2019 to 2020 was due to issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, saying sanctions investigations are completed on a “variety of timelines.” The Treasury’s Office of…
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Foreign Assets Control “takes its enforcement activities very seriously, and treats every matter with the care and due diligence that it deserves,” the spokesperson said in a Feb. 17 email. “These cases don’t always follow a set schedule, and we finalize cases when they’re ready and when we have all the facts and documentation necessary to draw the appropriate conclusion and finding.” The agency in 2019 settled 26 cases worth nearly $1.3 billion, compared with 16 cases totaling $23 million in 2020 (see 2102120061).