OFAC Lawyer: Sanctions, Licenses & Export Controls

When a payment freezes, a shipment stops, or a name appears on a sanctions list, you need an OFAC lawyer who moves fast. Transnational Matters PLLC represents companies, financial institutions, and individuals before the Office of Foreign Assets Control and the Bureau of Industry and Security. From our base in Miami, we handle sanctions and export control matters across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, and we measure success the way clients do: funds released, licenses granted, penalties avoided.

OFAC Licenses: Specific and General Authorizations

Many transactions touching a sanctioned country, entity, or person remain lawful with the right authorization. OFAC issues two kinds. General licenses authorize defined categories of activity for anyone who fits their terms, and no application is required. Specific licenses respond to an individual application and authorize one company to do one thing. We first analyze whether an existing general license already covers your activity, because that answer can save months. Where it does not, we prepare specific license applications that anticipate the questions OFAC will ask and support every factual claim with documents.

Timing matters as much as substance. Straightforward applications can resolve in a few months, while policy-sensitive requests can take a year or longer. We push cases forward through complete first filings, prompt responses, and direct follow-up with the Licensing Division, because an application that sits unanswered costs real money every week.

Cuba Sanctions and the CACR: A Recent Win

The Cuban Assets Control Regulations, 31 C.F.R. Part 515, remain among the most restrictive United States sanctions programs, yet lawful trade with Cuba exists in defined categories, and blocked transactions can often be recovered. Our firm recently represented a company whose Cuba-related funds, more than US$200,000, sat blocked at a United States financial institution. We prepared a specific license application, engaged with OFAC through several rounds of questions, and obtained release of the funds in full. The lesson is practical: a blocked payment is not a lost payment. It is a legal problem with a defined administrative path, and persistence through that path pays.

Davy Karkason was quoted in Bloomberg (Sept. 11, 2026) on how Helms-Burton certified claims affect the sale of Cuba-linked assets.

BIS Export Licenses and the EAR

Export controls reach far beyond weapons. Software, semiconductors, and even technical data can require a BIS export license under the Export Administration Regulations. We classify items against the Commerce Control List, determine the correct ECCN or EAR99 status, screen end users and destinations, and apply license exceptions where they fit. When a license is required, we file with the Bureau of Industry and Security and manage conditions after approval. In addition, we advise on deemed exports, where sharing controlled technology with a foreign national inside the United States counts as an export to that person’s home country.

SDN List Removal and the 50 Percent Rule

A designation on the Specially Designated Nationals list can end banking relationships overnight, and the harm spreads through OFAC’s 50 Percent Rule to entities majority-owned by listed parties. Our OFAC lawyer team prepares delisting petitions supported by evidence of changed circumstances or mistaken identity, engages the agency through the reconsideration process, and pursues judicial review where the record supports it. For companies caught by ownership math rather than conduct, we restructure holdings and document the change so banks and counterparties can rely on it.

Blocked Funds, Rejected Wires, and Bank Compliance

Banks respond to sanctions risk in two ways, and the difference matters. A rejected wire returns to the sender, while a blocked wire sits in a segregated account until OFAC authorizes release. We trace the funds, identify the blocking basis, and file release applications with the evidence that the transaction was not prohibited or now qualifies for a license. We also help businesses respond when their own bank freezes an account over sanctions questions, because a fast, documented answer often restores banking access before the relationship is lost.

Voluntary Self-Disclosures and Enforcement Defense

Discovering a possible violation is stressful. However, a well-managed voluntary self-disclosure can cut penalties substantially, and OFAC treats disclosure as significant mitigation. We investigate the facts quietly, quantify exposure, remediate the gap, and present the disclosure in its best light. When OFAC or BIS issues a subpoena, a pre-penalty notice, or a charging letter, we defend the enforcement action, negotiate settlements, and protect the business relationships that matter most. Civil penalties can reach six figures per violation or twice the value of the transaction, so the stakes justify early, careful work.

Sanctions Compliance Programs Built on the OFAC Framework

Regulators expect a risk-based compliance program, and so do banks and counterparties. OFAC’s own framework describes five components: management commitment, risk assessment, internal controls, testing and auditing, and training. We build programs sized to your operations around those five pillars, draft sanctions clauses for contracts, and run periodic screening of customers, vendors, and shipments. Furthermore, we audit existing programs after acquisitions or expansion, because yesterday’s program rarely fits today’s footprint.

How the OFAC License Process Works, Step by Step

First, we determine whether any general license already authorizes the transaction, because that answer requires no filing at all. Second, we assemble the factual record: contracts, invoices, payment trails, corporate documents, and the sanctions nexus. Third, we draft the application to answer the questions OFAC will ask before it asks them, including the parties, the end use, the payment route, and the policy rationale for approval. Fourth, we file and calendar follow-up, responding to agency requests within days rather than weeks. Finally, once the license issues, we review its conditions line by line, because a license used outside its terms is itself a violation. Clients receive a clear map of this process at the start, along with realistic timing.

Sanctions Programs We Handle

Our practice covers the programs that touch real trade. Cuba matters under the CACR, from blocked funds to authorized travel and trade categories. Venezuela matters involving PDVSA-related restrictions and general licenses. Russia and Belarus programs, where sanctions on banks, sectors, and individuals change quickly and secondary sanctions reach non-United States companies. Iran matters under the ITSR, among the strictest programs, where even indirect facilitation creates exposure. We also counsel on narcotics, counterterrorism, and cyber-related designations, and we track Federal Register changes so advice reflects the rule in force today, not last quarter.

Who We Represent

Importers and exporters whose payments or cargo hit a sanctions wall. Banks, fintechs, and money service businesses deciding whether to block, reject, or process. Freight forwarders and shipping lines managing voyage and cargo risk. Foreign companies with United States touchpoints, including dollar payments that clear through New York, who discover that OFAC reaches them too. And individuals, including dual nationals, whose accounts were frozen over a name match or a family transfer. Each client gets the same first deliverable: a plain statement of what is prohibited, what is permitted, and what we can unlock.

Sanctions Due Diligence in Deals and Disputes

Sanctions exposure moves with the deal. In acquisitions, successor liability means a target’s old violations become the buyer’s problem, so we run sanctions due diligence before signing and draft representations that allocate the risk. In joint ventures and distribution agreements, we add sanctions and export control clauses with real teeth, including termination rights and audit access. And when disputes arise from sanctions disruption, our team pairs this practice with our international arbitration group to recover losses where a counterparty used sanctions as an excuse rather than a reason.

Why Choose Our OFAC and Export Controls Team

Sanctions issues rarely travel alone. They arrive with customs questions, contract fights, and cross-border payments. Our firm connects the pieces because we also handle international trade disputes, Court of International Trade litigation, import and export laws, and FCPA compliance. For current sanctions programs, see the official OFAC website.

One more point that separates sanctions work from ordinary compliance: the rules move. General licenses appear and expire, designations land overnight, and a transaction that was lawful in the spring can be prohibited by fall. That is why our engagements include monitoring for the programs that touch your business, with plain-language alerts when a change requires action. Sanctions law rewards the prepared, and it punishes the assumption that last year’s answer still holds.

Red Flags That Call for an OFAC Lawyer Now

Some situations should trigger a call the same day. A wire that a bank reports as blocked rather than returned. A counterparty that suddenly appears on a screening hit, or an ownership chain that leads to a listed party. A customs hold that references export licensing. A compliance questionnaire from your bank asking about Cuba, Venezuela, Russia, or Iran exposure. An employee who mentions that a deal was routed through a third country to avoid a restriction, which is the classic pattern of evasion that enforcement teams look for. Early advice in each of these moments is measured in days, and it usually costs a fraction of the penalty, the lost funds, or the closed account that follows delay.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does an OFAC specific license take?

Straightforward applications can resolve in a few months, while complex or policy-sensitive requests may take a year or longer. Complete, well-documented filings that anticipate agency questions move fastest, and persistent follow-up keeps the file moving.

Can money blocked under the Cuba sanctions be recovered?

Often, yes. Our firm recently obtained release of more than US$200,000 in Cuba-related funds through a specific license application under the CACR. Each case turns on the transaction’s facts, the parties involved, and the quality of the supporting record.

What are the penalties for OFAC violations?

Civil penalties can reach six figures per violation or twice the value of the transaction, and willful conduct risks criminal prosecution. A properly managed voluntary self-disclosure can reduce exposure substantially.

Can a blocked wire transfer be released?

Often, yes. When a payment involves a blocked person or property, the receiving U.S. financial institution must place the funds in a blocked, interest-bearing account and report the blocking to OFAC within 10 business days; the sender cannot simply request a reversal. Release requires an application showing the transaction was not prohibited or qualifies for a license (specific, or a general license that covers the transaction). We prepare the filing, respond to agency questions, and press for timely action.

What happens after I file a voluntary self-disclosure?

OFAC acknowledges the filing, may ask follow-up questions, and eventually resolves the matter through a no-action letter, a cautionary letter, or a penalty that reflects substantial mitigation credit. The process rewards completeness, so we file only after the internal review is truly done.

Do I need a license for every transaction with a sanctioned country?

No. General licenses and exemptions authorize many categories of activity, from certain agricultural and medical exports to information and travel-related transactions. The analysis is transaction-specific, which is why we start every engagement by mapping your activity against the current program rules.

Do OFAC sanctions apply to non-U.S. companies?

They can. Non-U.S. companies may face exposure when a transaction has a U.S. nexus — for example, U.S.-dollar payments clearing through U.S. banks, use of U.S.-origin goods or software, involvement of U.S. persons, or conduct that causes a U.S. person to violate sanctions. OFAC’s Fifty Percent Rule also treats entities majority-owned by blocked persons as themselves blocked, and certain programs authorize secondary sanctions against wholly foreign conduct. Foreign companies transacting in dollars or with U.S. counterparties should assess exposure before, not after, a transaction.

What does OFAC do?

The Office of Foreign Assets Control, part of the U.S. Treasury Department, administers and enforces U.S. economic and trade sanctions programs. It maintains the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) and other sanctions lists, issues general and specific licenses, and imposes civil penalties for violations.

What is the difference between a general license and a specific license?

A general license authorizes a category of transactions for everyone who meets its terms, without applying to OFAC. A specific license is a written authorization issued to a particular person, on application, for a transaction that no general license covers.

What is OFAC’s 50 Percent Rule?

Any entity owned 50 percent or more, directly or indirectly, in the aggregate by one or more blocked persons is itself treated as blocked, even if it does not appear on the SDN List. Ownership, not control, is the test under the rule, although control can raise separate risk.

Speak With an OFAC Lawyer Today

Whether you need a license, a delisting, a defense, or a compliance program, timing drives the outcome. Call 305.417.9866 or use our contact page for a confidential consultation with an OFAC lawyer who has recovered blocked funds and kept clients trading lawfully.

Cuba Sanctions and the Trading With the Enemy Act

Cuba is the last country still sanctioned under the Trading With the Enemy Act of 1917, implemented through OFAC’s Cuban Assets Control Regulations (31 C.F.R. Part 515). TWEA-based restrictions reach travel, remittances, banking, and trade touching Cuba, and they apply to persons subject to U.S. jurisdiction wherever located. Our practice covers CACR licensing, blocked-funds releases involving Cuba-related transfers, and compliance reviews for businesses with Cuba exposure — including the successful release of blocked funds described above.