OFAC Licence Application and Removal from an OFAC List

Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC)

OFAC's Mission

The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) administers and enforces economic and trade sanctions against targeted foreign countries, regimes, and individuals which are believed to constitute a threat to the economy, national security, or foreign policy of the United​ States.

OFAC operates under the Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence (TFI) which has the objectives of (i) safeguarding the financial system against illicit use and (ii) combating rogue nations, terrorist facilitators, proliferators of weapons of mass destruction, money launderers, drug kingpins, and other U.S. national security threats. Its Office of Intelligence and Analysis (OIA) is composed of intelligence targeters and lawyers providing U.S. policy makers with strategic analyses of trends and patterns worldwide.

OFAC Delisting Service

We reach out to the U.S. Office of Foreign Asset Control with a petition for the removal from an OFAC list.

The power and integrity of U.S. sanctions derive not only from its ability to designate and add persons to the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List (SDN List), but also from its willingness to remove persons from the list in accordance with the law. In fact, the OFAC believes that "the ultimate goal of sanctions is not to punish, but to bring about a positive change in behavior".

The OFAC Listing Process

In making a listing determination, OFAC draws on information from many sources, including relevant United States government agencies, foreign governments, UN expert panels, and press and other open source reporting. OFAC investigators then carry out a thorough investigation, including a review of the totality of the information. The conclusions of such an investigation are then documented in a formal memorandum that sets out the evidence supporting a determination that the person meets the criteria for being sanctioned. Before OFAC’s final determination is made, proposed listing actions may be forwarded for review to other agencies if appropriate, such as the Department of Justice or the Department of State.

Each year, the OFAC removes hundreds of individuals and entities from its SDN Lists

Reasons for an OFAC delisting include the following arguments and evidence:

• there is an insufficient basis exists for the listing;

• the basis for the listing no longer exists (for example due to a corporate reorganization, the resignation of persons from positions in a blocked entity, or similar steps);

• the OFAC measures have led to a positive change in behavior.

Review turnaround time

The processing time of a removal request to OFAC depends upon a range of factors including (i) whether OFAC needs additional information (ii) how timely and forthcoming the petitioner is in responding to OFAC’s requests and (iii) the facts and circumstances of the specific case.

In addition, it is possible to reapply if new arguments and evidence are presented in light of which OFAC may reach a different conclusion.

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References

Bryan R. Early (2015) Busted Sanctions: Explaining Why Economic Sanctions Fail (Stanford University Press) (here)

Bryan R. Early, Keith A. Preble (2020) Going Fishing versus Hunting Whales: Explaining Changes in How the US Enforces Economic Sanctions (Security Studies Volume 29, 2020 - Issue 2) (here)

Paul Feldbert, Rachel Alpert et al. (2021) The Guide to Sanctions (Global Investigative Review) (here)

Richard Nephew (2017) The Art of Sanctions: A View from the Field (Columbia University Press) (here)