Founding Attorney
Transnational Matters PLLC has secured the release of over US$200,000 in OFAC-blocked funds. A U.S. bank had frozen the money under the Cuban Assets Control Regulations (CACR). The release followed a successful specific license application to the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
The firm’s client is a company engaged in lawful trade involving Cuba. The funds stopped moving when a U.S. financial institution blocked the transaction under the Cuba sanctions program. OFAC-blocked funds of this kind do not move again without the agency’s authorization. Indeed, many companies wrongly assume the money will never come back.
How the OFAC Blocked Funds Were Released
Founding attorney Davy Karkason prepared and filed a specific license application with OFAC. Specifically, the filing documented the underlying transaction, the parties involved, and the legal basis for authorization under the CACR. Sustained engagement with OFAC followed, as the firm responded to the agency’s questions and supplemented the record. Finally, OFAC granted the license, and the client recovered the blocked funds.
What This Means for Your Company
Banks block billions of dollars in transactions every year under U.S. sanctions programs administered by OFAC. These programs involve Cuba, Russia, Iran, Venezuela, and other jurisdictions. However, a blocked wire is not necessarily a lost wire. With the right legal basis and a properly documented license application, you can recover OFAC-blocked funds. Timing matters, because blocked funds sit in interest-bearing accounts subject to annual reporting. In addition, the record built at the application stage determines the outcome.
Our OFAC sanctions and licensing practice assists companies and individuals with specific license applications. For example, we handle blocked and rejected transactions, sanctions compliance, and BIS export control matters.
If a bank has blocked your funds under a U.S. sanctions program, contact our office for a confidential consultation or call 305.417.9866.
Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Every matter depends on its own facts and circumstances.
