On June 26, Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced the settlement of an enforcement action against an Italian animation company that violated OFAC’s sanctions on North Korea. The enforcement action highlights several key propositions regarding sanctions compliance: (1) non-U.S. businesses cannot ignore U.S. sanctions if they are transacting through the U.S. or using U.S. dollars; (2) penalties for civil violations of sanctions are imposed on a strict liability basis; and (3) the U.S. government is particularly focused on North Korean sanctions evasion.
