The Latest News about The Department of the Treasury

OFAC Sanctions a Magistrate Judge and Former Governor, Among Others Washington – Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated a Mexican magistrate judge and a former Mexican governor due to their involvement in corruption activities.  OFAC designated Mexican magistrate judge Isidro Avelar Gutierrez pursuant to the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act (Kingpin Act) ...

Washington – Today, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) removed sanctions imposed on Manuel Ricardo Cristopher Figuera (Cristopher), who last week broke ranks with the Maduro regime and rallied to the support of the Venezuelan constitution and the National Assembly.  Cristopher is the former Director General of Venezuela’s National Intelligence Service, more commonly known as ...

Washington – Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) further targeted the global business operations of Hizballah by designating two individuals and three entities acting as conduits for sanctions evasion schemes.  Specifically, OFAC designated Belgium-based Wael Bazzi for acting for or on behalf of his father and Hizballah financier, Mohammad Bazzi.  OFAC designated Belgium-based ...

Today, the United States sanctioned four companies for operating in the oil sector of the Venezuelan economy and identified nine vessels as blocked property, pursuant to Executive Order 13850. These actions are a follow-on to the designations announced on April 5, which targeted entities and vessels known to be involved in the transportation of crude oil from Venezuela to Cuba. ...

Washington – Today, U.S. Department of the Treasury Secretary, Steven T. Mnuchin, chaired a meeting of Ministers and other senior officials, representing the membership of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). “Since its inception thirty years ago, the FATF has been at the forefront of efforts to combat money laundering.  This Minister-level meeting reaffirmed our collective commitment to protect the ...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – The Terrorist Financing Targeting Center (TFTC) this week convened a regional capacity-building workshop in Riyadh focused on Iranian illicit finance schemes and the risks Iran poses to the international financial system. The TFTC, launched in 2017, is a multilateral effort among the United States, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Oman to ...

Washington – Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury lowered the withholding underpayment threshold to 80 percent, delivering more taxpayers penalty relief. This change applies to taxpayers whose total withholding and estimated tax payments for 2018 are equal to or greater than 80 percent of their taxes owed. The typical threshold to avoid a penalty is 90 percent, but earlier ...

Washington – Today, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated Banco de Desarrollo Economico y Social de Venezuela, or BANDES, pursuant to E.O. 13850, as amended, for operating in the financial sector of the Venezuelan economy, as well as four additional financial institutions that BANDES owns or controls. “The willingness of Maduro’s inner-circle to exploit ...

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) today announced the designation of two shipping companies that have helped North Korea evade sanctions.  Today’s action highlights the deceptive methods that the North Korean regime uses to circumvent international and U.S. sanctions, as well as the U.S. Government’s commitment to implement existing UN Security Council ...

Washington – Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated CVG Compania General de Mineria de Venezuela CA, or Minerven, the Venezuelan state-run ferrous metals mining company, and its President, Adrian Antonio Perdomo Mata, targeting the illicit gold operations that have continued to prop up the illegitimate regime of former President Nicolas Maduro.  Today’s ...

WASHINGTON – Today, in its largest ever single-day action targeting the Iranian regime, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned more than 700 individuals, entities, aircraft, and vessels.  This action is a critical part of the re-imposition of the remaining U.S. nuclear-related sanctions that were lifted or waived in connection with the Joint Comprehensive ...

Washington – Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated Evrofinance Mosnarbank, a Moscow-based bank that is jointly owned by Russian and Venezuelan state-owned companies.  As the Treasury has continued to escalate the use of sanctions against the illegitimate regime of former President Nicolas Maduro, the net assets of Evrofinance Mosnarbank (Evrofinance) bank grew ...

Trump administration Intensifies Pressure on Maduro and Regime Insiders, Demonstrates U.S. Commitment to Leverage Economic Pressure to Support the Venezuelan People’s Transition to Democracy Washington – Today the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PdVSA) pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13850 for operating in the oil sector of the Venezuelan economy.  ...

The average American’s tax refunds are up in 2019, according to the U.S. Treasury Department. Mainstream media has reported for weeks that President Trump’s tax plan had negatively impacted refund amounts, but new data shows they got it wrong. “The average refund at this point in the filing season is now up 1.3 percent over last year based on 47.7 ...

Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated five Russian entities and three Russian individuals under Executive Order (E.O.) 13694, “Blocking the Property of Certain Persons Engaging in Significant Malicious Cyber-Enabled Activities,” as amended, and Section 224 of the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA).  One of the designated entities in controlled by ...