Office of Foreign Assets Control: Difference between revisions

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The '''Office of Foreign Assets Control''' ('''OFAC''') is a [[financial intelligence]] and enforcement agency of the [[United States Department of the Treasury|United States Treasury Department]]. It administers and enforces economic and trade [[economic sanctions|sanctions]] in support of U.S. [[National Security of the United States|national security]] and [[Foreign policy of the United States|foreign policy]] objectives.<ref name="min">{{cite journal|author1=Tom C.W. Lin|title=Financial Weapons of War |journal=[[Minnesota Law Review]] |date=April 2016|volume=100|issue=4| pages=1377–1440| url= http://www.minnesotalawreview.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Lin_ONLINEPDF.pdf }}</ref> Under [[Executive order|presidential national emergency powers]], OFAC carries out its activities against foreign governments, organizations (including terrorist groups and drug cartels), and individuals deemed a threat to U.S. national security.<ref name="Treasury's War book">{{cite book | title=Treasury's War | publisher=PublicAffairs | author=Zarate, Juan C. | year=2013 | location=New York | isbn=9781610391153}}</ref>
The '''Office of Foreign Assets Control''' ('''OFAC''') is a [[financial intelligence]] and enforcement agency of the [[United States Department of the Treasury|United States Treasury Department]]. It administers and enforces economic and trade [[economic sanctions|sanctions]] in support of U.S. [[National Security of the United States|national security]] and [[Foreign policy of the United States|foreign policy]] objectives.<ref name="min">{{cite journal|author1=Tom C.W. Lin|title=Financial Weapons of War |journal=[[Minnesota Law Review]] |date=April 2016|volume=100|issue=4| pages=1377–1440| url= http://www.minnesotalawreview.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Lin_ONLINEPDF.pdf }}</ref> Under [[Executive order|presidential national emergency powers]], OFAC carries out its activities against foreign governments, organizations (including terrorist groups and drug cartels), and individuals deemed a threat to U.S. national security.<ref name="Treasury's War book">{{cite book | title=Treasury's War | publisher=PublicAffairs | author=Zarate, Juan C. | year=2013 | location=New York | isbn=9781610391153}}</ref>


Founded in 1950 as the Division of Foreign Assets Control, since 2004 OFAC has operated under the [[Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence]] within the Treasury Department. It is primarily composed of intelligence targeters and lawyers. While many of OFAC's targets are broadly set by the [[White House]], most individual cases are developed as a result of investigations by OFAC's Office of Global Targeting (OGT).<ref name="reuters.com">Yukhananov, Anna, and Warren Strobel, [https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-sanctions-insight-idUSBREA3D1O820140415 "After Success on Iran, U.S. Treasury's Sanctions Team Faces New Challenges"], [[Reuters]], April 14, 2014.</ref>
Founded in 1950 as the Division of Foreign Assets Control, since 2004 OFAC has operated under the [[Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence]] within the Treasury Department. It is primarily composed of intelligence targeters and lawyers. While many of OFAC's targets are broadly set by the [[White House]], most individual cases are developed as a result of investigations by OFAC's Office of Global Targeting (OGT).<ref name="reuters.com">Yukhananov, Anna, and Warren Strobel, [https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-sanctions-insight-idUSBREA3D1O820140415 "After Success on Iran, U.S. Treasury's Sanctions Team Faces New Challenges"], Reuters, April 14, 2014.</ref>


Sometimes described as one of the "most powerful yet unknown" government agencies,<ref name="reuters.com"/><ref>Rubenfeld, Samuel. [https://blogs.wsj.com/riskandcompliance/2014/02/05/ofac-rises-as-sanctions-become-a-major-policy-tool "OFAC Rises as Sanctions Become A Major Policy Tool"], ''[[Wall Street Journal]]'', February 5, 2014</ref> OFAC has the power to levy significant penalties against entities that defy its directives, including imposing fines, freezing assets, and barring parties from operating in the U.S.
Sometimes described as one of the "most powerful yet unknown" government agencies,<ref name="reuters.com"/><ref>Rubenfeld, Samuel. [https://blogs.wsj.com/riskandcompliance/2014/02/05/ofac-rises-as-sanctions-become-a-major-policy-tool "OFAC Rises as Sanctions Become A Major Policy Tool"], ''[[Wall Street Journal]]'', February 5, 2014</ref> OFAC has the power to levy significant penalties against entities that defy its directives, including imposing fines, freezing assets, and barring parties from operating in the U.S.