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On Thursday, the Treasury Department reported that OFAC took its first oil price cap enforcement action of 2024, targeting a shipping company linked to a price cap violation.

United Arab Emirates-based shipping company Hennesea Holdings Limited (Hennesea) is the ultimate owner of 18 vessels, including the HS Atlantica, which OFAC previously identified as having engaged in the transport of crude oil of Russian Federation origin priced above the $60 per barrel price cap while using a covered U.S.-based provider after the price cap policy came into effect. On December 1, 2023, OFAC identified the HS Atlantica as property in which Hennesea’s subsidiary, U.S.-designated HS Atlantica Limited, has an interest. OFAC additionally re-identified the HS Atlantica as property in which Hennesea has an interest. OFAC also designated 17 other vessels in which Hennesea has an interest.

For identification information on Hennesea and the designated vessels, see this January 18, 2024, BankersOnline OFAC Update.

Yesterday, the Treasury Department reported that OFAC had sanctioned former Guatemalan Minister of Energy and Mining Alberto Pimentel Mata for his role in exploiting the Guatemalan mining sector through widespread bribery schemes, including schemes related to government contracts and mining licenses. Pimentel was designated under the authority of Executive Order 13818, which builds upon and implements the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act and targets perpetrators of serious human rights abuse and corruption around the world. Yesterday’s action follows the Department of State’s October 2023 announcement of visa restriction on Pimentel and other individuals for their involvement in significant corruption.

As a result of yesterday’s action, all property and interests in property of Pimentel that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons are blocked and must be reported to OFAC. In addition, any entities that are owned, directly or indirectly, individually or in the aggregate, 50 percent or more by one or more blocked persons are also blocked. Unless authorized by a general or specific license issued by OFAC, or otherwise exempt, OFAC’s regulations generally prohibit all transactions by U.S. persons or within (or transiting) the United States that involve any property or interests in property of designated or otherwise blocked persons.

For identification information on Pimentel, see the January 17, 2024, BankersOnline OFAC Update.

On Friday, the Treasury Department reported that OFAC designated two companies in Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates for shipping Iranian commodities on behalf of the network of Iran-based, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF)-backed Houthi financial facilitator Sa’id al-Jamal. OFAC also identified four vessels as blocked property in which these companies have an interest. The revenue from the commodity sales supports the Houthis and their continued attacks against international shipping in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

For the names and identification information of the designated entities and vessels, see the January 12, 2024, BankersOnline OFAC Update.

FinCEN has issued Paycheck Protection Program FAQs to re-publish a series of FAQs issued by the U.S. Small Business Administration.

FinCEN has updated its FAQs on Beneficial Ownership Information Reporting. New or updated information dated January 12, 2024, can be found in these sections:

• C (Reporting Company)
• D (Beneficial Owner)
• E (Company Applicant)
• F (Reporting Requirements)
• L (Reporting Company Exemptions)
• M (FinCEN Identifier)

Yesterday, the Federal Reserve Board announced four consent enforcement orders:

• John Freeze, former chief financial officer for Bank of Jackson Hole, Jackson, Wyoming, received an order of prohibition for misappropriation of documents, including confidential supervisory information
• Three former officers of Farmers and Merchants Savings Bank, Manchester, Iowa, received orders to cease and desist and to pay civil money penalties of $50,000 each, for misappropriation of confidential bank records:
  • Randy Johnson, former executive vice president
  • Chad Kellogg, former senior vice president for commercial lending
  • Jeffrey Hines, former senior vice president for commercial banking

Yesterday, FinCEN released a Financial Trend Analysis (FTA), Identity-Related Suspicious Activity: 2021 Threads and Trends, on information in BSA Reports filed in 2021. FinCEN’s analysis found that approximately 1.6 million reports (42% of the reports filed that year) related to identity—indicating $212 billion in suspicious activity.

The report, which is part of what FinCEN has previously referred to as its Identity Project, explores how bad actors exploit identity-related processes involved in processing transactions as well as opening and accessing accounts. FinCEN identified over 14 typologies commonly indicated in identity-related BSA reports. The most frequently reported were fraud, false records, identity theft, third-party money laundering, and circumvention of verification standards. These top five typologies accounted for 88% of identity-related BSA reports and 74% of the total identity-related suspicious activity amount reported during calendar year 2021.

Trends found in the BSA reporting include:

• Although identity-related suspicious activity impacted all types of financial institutions, depository institutions filed the most identity-related BSA reports, around 54% of all identity-related filings.
• While most financial institutions in the identity-related BSA dataset reported impersonation as their top identity exploitation, money services businesses most often reported circumvention of verification.
• The report found that compromised credentials have a disproportionate financial impact as compared to other types of identity exploitation.

FinCEN’s FTAs highlight the value of information filed by financial institutions in accordance with the BSA. Additional reports on a variety of topics are located on FinCEN’s website.

On Monday, Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen offered remarks on the current status of the Beneficial Ownership Information Reporting initiative. She noted that in just the first week of reporting, over 100,000 filings have been made. She said, "We’re also making reporting as easy as possible for the small businesses at the heart of the American economy so that the benefits for small businesses, and for all of us, will far outweigh what should be a relatively straightforward effort to comply. The reporting process is simple, quick, and free. A small business shouldn’t need a certified public accountant or lawyer. To help companies understand the requirements, we’re hard at work getting the word out. We’re coordinating with federal and state government offices and partnering with the Small Business Administration to hold virtual and in-person events. We’ve published guidance in multiple languages, including specifically for small businesses. We have a Contact Center that is live and taking questions."

On other topics, Secretary Yellen said, "In line with the U.S. Strategy on Countering Corruption, we are ... pursuing increased transparency in our real estate and investment adviser sectors. We aim to issue a notice of proposed rulemaking early this year that will be an important step toward bringing greater transparency to residential real estate transactions, and we are considering next steps to address risks associated with commercial real estate."

The National Credit Union Administration has announced it issued an Notice of Prohibition to Andrea Alice Nedow, a former teller/member service representative at Traverse Catholic Federal Credit Union, Traverse City, Michigan, after a finding that she made unauthorized withdrawals from member accounts. She was later prosecuted for embezzlement by local law enforcement, and, on January 24, 2023, she pleaded guilty to two charges of embezzlement.

FinCEN yesterday announced it has begun to accept Beneficial Ownership Information reports. Existing reporting companies have until January 1, 2025, to register. Reporting companies newly created or registered in 2024 have 90 days after receiving actual or public notice that their company's creation or registration is effective.