By now you've seen the news about the United States on Tuesday accusing Iranian officials of plotting to kill Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the U.S. But what some businesses may not realize is that Tuesday's international news had a direct impact on how they do business thanks to the sanctions handed down by the U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
The same day the stunning allegations hit the news, OFAC updated its watch lists to include individuals in any way connected to the alleged plot, meaning businesses and financial institutions are required by law to make sure they're not doing business with the five individuals named to the SDN list. Yesterday, OFAC designated Iranian commercial airline Mahan Air, so U.S. persons are prohibited from engaging in commercial or financial transactions with that airline.
Simply put, international incidents like this will affect your business or financial institution. And if you fail to keep up with OFAC's constantly changing watch lists, your business or financial institution could be ruined by devastating financial penalties and the public relations hit they’d take by doing business with someone dubbed a potential enemy of the United States.
OFAC already is at a record pace so far this year, with 64 changes to its watch lists as of today. In all of 2010, OFAC only updated its list 53 times. So how do you keep up and remain in compliance with federal laws?
When OFAC issues an update, alarms literally sound here at ATTUS Technologies, Inc. headquarters. It's that important.
Technicians immediately update all OFAC watch lists for our customers, so they don't ever have to worry. If any individual named on a federal watch list tries to do business with our customers, who rely on WatchDOG®Pro regulatory compliance software, our solutions register a hit and alert our customers before a transaction takes place. It keeps money out of the hands of terrorists and money launderers.
Do you have a regulatory compliance solution in place, not only to protect your business or institution from crippling financial penalties, but to protect the interests of the U.S.A.?