Heightened Enforcement Actions in Economic Sanctions: Compliance Trends and Considerations

John E. Smith, former Director of the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), is co-head of Morrison & Foerster’s National Security practice, and a member of the Global Risk + Crisis Management group and Investigations + White Collar group. After serving 11 years as a top official at OFAC and three years as its Director, Mr. Smith brings to the firm unmatched experience in economic sanctions, enforcement, and national security.

Both in the United States and globally, clients turn to Mr. Smith for his deep experience and unique perspective on the complexities and escalating risk of U.S. and multilateral sanctions. He is a trusted advisor for clients navigating significant civil and criminal enforcement actions by U.S. and other government prosecutors and regulators. While serving as a top official at OFAC, Mr. Smith was centrally involved in all aspects of developing, implementing, and enforcing U.S. government sanctions requirements. As OFAC Director, he oversaw every OFAC enforcement case against financial institutions and global operating companies.

Jennifer Talbert is an associate in Morrison & Foerster’s Washington, D.C. office. Her practice involves assisting clients on matters relating to economic sanctions, banking and financial services, anti-money laundering, and money transmission and payments. Ms. Talbert assists clients in matters involving economic sanctions laws administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and other international trade matters involving export controls and the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). Ms. Talbert also advises financial institutions and financial services companies on regulatory compliance and government enforcement matters by various federal and state agencies. She is experienced in guiding clients on issues arising under financial services laws, including the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), and the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.

Kristofer Readling, an associate in Morrison & Foerster’s National Security practice group, focuses on sanctions and export control issues and investigations, having most recently served as an Enforcement Officer in the Enforcement Division of the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). At OFAC, Kristofer investigated violations of various U.S. sanctions programs, led large, complex enforcement cases, developed and implemented novel investigative strategies and enforcement theories, and negotiated settlements. His cases involved exports of controlled U.S.-origin content to sanctioned countries, trade-based extensions of credit to sanctioned Russian entities, sanctions evasion attempts by Iranian businesses, and international mergers and acquisitions involving prior corporate dealings with sanctioned persons. To support OFAC’s mission, Kristofer advised OFAC staff on difficult issues with few legal or policy precedents and helped to establish many OFAC Enforcement precedents by bringing novel public actions against U.S. and foreign companies for violations of U.S. sanctions.

Philip Urofsky, a partner in the firm’s Litigation Group, is a former federal prosecutor with extensive experience investigating and prosecuting criminal and civil violations of the FCPA, the money laundering and mail and wire fraud statutes, and economic sanctions laws and regulations.  He advises clients on conducting internal investigations, designing and implementing compliance programs, as well as conducting due diligence in mergers & acquisitions, joint ventures, securities offerings, and concerning retention of third parties.

Additionally, Philip has extensive experience responding to and defending against federal, state, and international criminal, civil, and administrative investigations, prosecutions, and trials on behalf of both business entities and individuals. 

Mr. Kassilke is a partner in the Transportation and Trade Practice Group at Cozen O’Connor and regularly advises clients on transactional and regulatory matters, focusing on air, ocean, and inland transportation, and international trade.  He regularly advises companies on U.S. export controls, trade sanctions, and customs regulations and has secured favorable resolutions of matters before the Office of Foreign Assets Control and the Bureau of Industry and Security.  In addition, Mr. Kassilke has been involved with a wide range of commercial transactions, antitrust, and regulatory matters, and has successfully represented clients involved in commercial litigation before federal courts and administrative agencies.

Mr. Kassilke has a degree in International Relations from the University of Pennsylvania and a master's degree in political science from Auburn University at Montgomery.  He received his law degree with honors from the George Washington University School of Law.