by Satish M. Kini, Robert T. Dura, Aseel M. Rabie, Jonathan R. Wong, and Yair Strachman
Left to right: Satish M. Kini, Robert T. Dura, Aseel M. Rabie, Jonathan R. Wong, and Yair Strachman (Photos courtesy of Debevoise & Plimpton LLP)
Earlier this month, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) issued an Interim Final Rule (“IFR”) to extend OFAC’s current recordkeeping requirements from five to 10 years. The IFR was published in the Federal Register on September 13, 2024, with public comments due by October 15, 2024. The new recordkeeping requirements are set to take effect on March 12, 2025.
The IFR follows amendments to the statute of limitations in the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (“IEEPA”) and the Trading with the Enemy Act (“TWEA”), two statutes that authorize many of OFAC’s sanctions programs. The new 10-year statute of limitations—codified at 50 U.S.C. §§ 1705(d) and 4315(d)—became effective on April 24, 2024, and was discussed in our Debevoise Client Update available here. In July 2024, OFAC issued guidance on how it interpreted the new statute of limitations and signaled that it also would extend its recordkeeping requirements, as we noted here.