ACI's 5th Annual Economic Sanctions Boot Camp

Registration Opens and Continental Breakfast

Co-Chairs’ Opening Remarks

Focus on Iran: A Comprehensive Review of Permissible and Prohibited Activities Involving Iran in Light of Easing Sanctions

• Latest developments on the P5+1 (the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Russia, and China) commitments in the Joint Plan of Action agreement
• Remaining sanctionable acts and exceptions under CISADA and IFCA
• Impact of P5+1 agreement on non-US industries and collateral compliance risks for US companies
• Differences between US and EU sanctions with IRan
• How is the government using the Section 219 disclosures?
• What business activity can involve hidden risk for Iran sanctions violations
• Recent developments in Iran transactions and sanctions regulations
• Is there more opportunity for non US companies doing business with Iran?

Focus on Russia and Ukraine: How to Evaluate Transactions Amid Rapidly Evolving Global Sanctions

• Understanding the toolkit of targeted financial measures provided by Executive Orders 13660, 13661, and 13662
• Insight into threats and calls for counter sanctions in Russia
• Comprehensive overview of the OFAC Ukraine Sectoral Sanctions and impacts to global banking and trade finance activities
• Regulatory implications regarding the categories of persons subjected to sanctioning by U.S. authorities
• Approaches to the adoption of global policies, procedures, and protocols to reduce risk exposure
• Tips in seeking guidance concerning matters potentially implicated by the Ukraine sanctions
• Managing OFAC’s guidance on persons whose property and interests in property are blocked

Coffee Break

Global Enforcement Year in Review – Global Investigations of Financial Institutions Continue to Make Headlines and Generate Huge Penalties: Where Are You Vulnerable?

• What recent settlements and current investigations reveal about enforcement priorities and what triggers an investigation
• Lessons learned from BNP Paribas, Standard Chartered Bank, Weatherford, Royal Bank of Canada and Fokker Services
• How compliance efforts are rewarded
• What is expected of your company if your industry is under review
• How different countries work together on global investigations
• Convergence: What role AML or fraud investigations play in economic sanctions enforcement
• What are the role and jurisdiction of the SEC over economic sanctions?
• How US agencies interact during a sanctions investigation
• Should we expect more enforcement on the state level?

The Licensing Process: How to Work with OFAC to Expedite License Approvals

• Recent changes in the licensing process for Iran
• Do’s and don’ts when applying for licensing
• What to include in the application to expedite the process
• What is the expected timeline for a response from OFAC
• Pitfalls to avoid in licensing
• Best practices to obtain licenses for humanitarian activities and products

Networking Lunch for Attendees and Speakers

Focus on Cuba: How US Companies Should Manage the Potential Risks of Doing Business in Cuba

• Implications of AIG and American Express penalties
• Unique prohibitions and blocking requirements under CACR
• Summary of general licenses for travel and medicine to Cuba
• Understanding telecommunication license requirements
• Working within Canadian companies and FEMA blocking legislation

The Anatomy of an Effective Internal Investigation: What to Do if You Discover a Sanctions Violation

• Deciding whether and how to investigation
• Who should conduct the investigation: in-house vs outside counsel and forensic accountants
• Working with IT and other departments
• How to resolve a legitimate hit
• How to investigation an foreign subsidiary or affiliate
• Dealing with foreign privacy laws
• Protecting attorney – client privilege
• When to call OFAC

Networking Break

Focus on Securities Industry Risks: How to Implement Strong Due Diligence to Limit Your Omnibus Accounts Risks

• Impact of Clearstream Banking on the securities industry
• Implementing OFAC’s best practices for mitigating sanctions risks associated with omnibus relationships
• Will OFAC start imposing huge penalties on U.S. banks related to omnibus accounts or custodial services?
• How are other areas of the securities sector that rely on undisclosed intermediated relationships affected?
• Best practices to conduct enhanced due diligence on your customers to identify sanctions risk

Beyond the Looking Glass: When You Should Block a Transaction, Terminate a Relationship or Look Back to Review Previously Processed Transactions

• Red and yellow flags to watch out for
• What is considered suspicious and potentially sanctionable activity?
• Watch out for clients that operate in countries under an OFAC sanctions program
• Considerations for whether to take the “next step” from OFAC’s perspective
• What is necessary for your company’s screening due diligence program?
• How OFAC evaluates a company’s due diligence to determine if additional research would have uncovered a prohibited transaction
• How factors in the decision to take the “next step” depends— to an extent—on the sophistication of your company

Champagne Roundtables

End your day informally as you network and share off-the-record stories on current issues facing the industry.

• Iran
• Russia/Ukraine
• Canada
• Europe

End of Day One

Co-Chairs’ Opening Remarks

Ask the Experts: Question and Answer Panel with Federal and NY State Enforcement Sanctions Officials

Companies are receiving more inquiries from NY State Department of Financial Services and other regulatory bodies. Learn how to cooperate with the authorities and protect your rights. What triggers suspicion at the NY State and Federal level?

This exclusive panel provides a rare opportunity to hear what the agencies expect during sanctions investigations. Attendees will be provided with the opportunity to pose questions directly during a moderated question and answer segment and may submit questions in advance.

• What are the agencies looking for?
• How to tailor your response to the particular agency and specifics
• What not to do

How to Evaluate Sanctions Risks in Investment Banking, Correspondent Banking and Insurance/Reinsurance

• How to determine the extent of assets owned or controlled by an entity, including the risks associated with complex asset based transactions
• What to ask for during the due diligence progress to detect risk
• Steps to expand your due diligence to evaluate for indirect sanctions risk
• Ways to quantify the potential exposure and when to walk away
• How much due diligence is necessary for investment banking

Networking Break

The Realities of Running a Global Sanctions Compliance and Screening Program – How to Identify What Makes Sense for Your Organization

• Frank discussion of current best practices and whether they make sense in all situations
• Should you screen all employees and/or vendors?
• Should you review screening polices of all of your financial institutions?
• Should you get mandatory contract representations for intermediaries
• How to decide which policies to adopt
• How to ensure that your organization is prepared for any new sanctions restrictions

Focus on Facilitation: How to Minimize Facilitation Risks Stemming from Related Parties, Foreign Affiliates, Joint Ventures and Subsidiaries

• Understanding how the concept of facilitation has evolved and what risks it now presents
• Determining what does (and does not) constitute facilitation
• Effective means of educating personnel regarding facilitation
• Practical review of recent enforcement action based on facilitation
• Examples of how facilitation arises most often
• Best practices for preventing and detecting facilitation

Networking Lunch for Attendees and Speakers

Focus on Canada: How to Resolve Conflicts with US and Canadian Sanctions and Blocking Measures

• Key differences between US and Canadian sanctions for Iran
• How to handle Cuban nationals as customers and when not to freeze their accounts
• Scope of permitted travel-related transactions to Cuba
• What is eligible under the EAR License exception
• Review of how to evaluate a transaction for heightened sanctions risk
• How to resolve conflicts of law between blocking measures in EU, Mexico, and Canada
• What to do when foreign blocking measures are triggered

Case Studies: When and How to Submit Voluntary Disclosures

Speakers will use a hypothetical case study to examine:

• What to do after identifying a potential violation (internal and external damage control; record keeping; stop-gap remedial measures and corrective actions)
• Factors to consider when deciding whether to make a voluntary disclosure (legal and business risks; applicable jurisdictions; threshold triggers under the relevant sanctions programs; knowing which entity will report; knowing which entity will assume potential liability)
• Best practices for engaging with OFAC (anticipating OFAC’s concerns; format, structure, timing and level of expected detail in Initial Notification and Final Reports)
• Using OFAC’s Settlement Guidelines to structure the disclosure
• Communicating with internal and external stakeholders / SEC Reporting

Networking Break

Preparing for Emerging Sanctions Restrictions: How Will They Affect Your Exports or Financial Transactions in the Future

• Discussion of potential new sanctions in Venezuela, Syria, Libya, Sudan, Myanmar, and Africa Sanctions
• Evaluating the risk of investing in emerging countries where sanctions restrictions apply
• Predictions on the use of sanctions restrictions in the next few months
• What countries should be on your radar screen?

Co-Chair’s Closing Remarks and Conference Ends

A Deep Dive into the Economic Sanctions Regime in Europe: Jurisdiction and Key Requirements to Build into Your Global Program

Companies operating internationally face a growing number of economic sanctions regimes imposed by individual states, regional bodies such as the European Union, and global organizations such as the United Nations. In the last few years we have seen significantly increased activity around sanctions within the EU, including unprecedented sanctions against Iran and Syria. The scope of each program varies enormously and the substantive provisions can change suddenly with little or no advance notice, and can have a sudden and very significant impact on existing business lines. The EU presents a particularly complex problem. Any given transaction can be subject to sanctions implemented by a number of different countries, and EU member states do not necessarily interpret or implement the provisions of EU legislation in the same way. Agencies can also be very hesitant to provide guidance. The compliance burden which this places on the corporate world is therefore growing fast. Financial institutions in particular are increasingly expected by regulators and enforcement authorities to help to ‘police’ sanctions.

Topics covered in this workshop will include the following:

• What do EU sanctions prohibit and who has to comply?
• Circumvention offences: what to look out for
• The impact and effect of EU anti-blocking legislation (e.g. German anti-blocking laws) and how to resolve conflicts with US law
• Personal liability of EU nationals working outside the EU
• Conflicts between sanctions compliance and EU data privacy and equality laws
• Enhanced enforcement efforts by EU agencies.
• Some horizon-spotting: what trends do we see coming down the line in the EU?

9:00am–12:30pm (Registration Begins at 8:30am)

Compliance 2.0: How to Build and Implement an Effective Sanctions Compliance and Screening Program

This practical working group gives participants the unique opportunity to benchmark their sanctions compliance and screening programs up against others in the industry, and learn how to overcome the real-world issues related to implementing an effective global program.

Speakers will lay out a roadmap of best practices for implementing compliant worldwide sanctions rules, increasing efficiency and promoting organization-wide compliance from the top down. Benchmark your compliance practices and benefit from enhanced Q & A.

Topics discussed will be:

• Tailoring internal compliance procedures to the site and country
• Implementing a global licensing strategy: Streamlining your approach to meeting local requirements and securing approvals
• Assessing risks based on your specific business activities
• Drafting a formal written compliance program for screening embargoed countries, denied parties and prohibited end-users
• Setting up a training and awareness program
• Knowing which U.S. and foreign government agencies to report to, and ways to streamline reporting processes across different jurisdictions
• Impact of the EU’s Intra Community Transfer Directive onstreamlining your licensing process
• Resolving both U.S. and international regulatory and legal conflicts with foreign requirements

1:30–5:00pm (Registration Begins at 1:00pm)