Ransomware Payments – OFAC Updates Its Advisory And Congress Gets Involved

Ransomware payments continue to be a focus of the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control ("OFAC"). As previously reported by Foley Hoag, on October 1, 2020, OFAC released an advisory regarding potential sanctions risks related to facilitating ransomware payments. Almost a year later, on September 21, 2021, OFAC updated its advisory to provide additional guidance regarding what OFAC considers to be mitigating factors if facilitating a ransomware payment results in an apparent violation of U.S. sanctions. In addition, OFAC, for the first time, added a foreign cryptocurrency exchange (SUEX OTC, S.R.O.) and a number of crypto addresses to its Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List.