Tri-Seal Compliance Note Issued On Export Controls, Sanctions Violations Self-Disclosures

Highlights

• The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) and Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) in late July issued a Tri-Seal Compliance Note (Compliance Note) outlining policy memoranda and regulations on voluntary self-disclosures for violations of sanctions, export controls and other national security laws.
• Though the Compliance Note does not impose new requirements, it does highlight the importance of self-disclosing suspected violations.
• Part of U.S. government efforts to encourage industry to help identify efforts by bad actors to evade U.S. sanctions and export controls, the Compliance Note also highlights recent changes in how agencies handle voluntary self-disclosures (or failures to self-disclose) that change the risk calculus of determining whether, when and to whom self-disclosure should be made.