Tag Archives: Robert T. Dura

OFAC Extends Recordkeeping Requirements

by Satish M. Kini, Robert T. Dura, Aseel M. Rabie, Jonathan R. Wong, and Yair Strachman

Photos of authors

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.

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BSA/AML and KYC in a Crisis: Supervisors Provide Guidance as Financial Institutions Respond to the COVID-19 Pandemic

by Satish M. Kini, David G. Sewell, Zila Reyes Acosta-Grimes, Isabel Espinosa de los Reyes, Robert T. Dura, and Jonathan R. Wong

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to unfold, the U.S. Congress, Treasury Department and Federal Reserve have taken extraordinary measures that would have been unimaginable just weeks ago in an attempt to stabilize the U.S. economy. Financial institutions are on the front lines of many of the new programs and are otherwise taking steps to support customers and communities affected by the crisis—while also protecting their employees through remote work arrangements and other measures.

Meeting obligations under the Bank Secrecy Act (the “BSA”) and associated anti-money laundering (“AML”) regulations—as well as supervisory know your customer (“KYC”) expectations—is challenging under ordinary circumstances and even more so in these conditions. Regulators have begun to offer guidance regarding their BSA expectations in these challenging circumstances. We highlight and summarize relevant developments below. Continue reading →