ICYMI: Congress Doubles the Statute of Limitations for Sanctions Violations
On April 24, 2024, President Biden signed into law H.R. 815, an emergency supplemental appropriations bill that included spending for Israel and Ukraine, along with other priorities such as data protection from foreign adversaries.
Within the fentanyl trafficking section, the bill included a provision that doubles the statute of limitations for all sanctions violations from five to 10 years. It also extended the limitation for certain export control violations such as biological weapon proliferation.
On September 11, 2024, the Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued an interim final rule amending their Reporting, Procedures and Penalties Regulations to reflect the new statute of limitations. The new rule extends recordkeeping requirements for certain transactions from five to 10 years.
Impact
This policy change will change how exporters keep records, maintain compliance programs, and conduct due diligence. It also allows more time for the government to investigate violations.
Government
The Department of Justice and the Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) are the primary authorities that will benefit from this policy change. Agency officials and prosecutors will now have twice as much time to investigate and bring charges against exporters.
The majority of federal crimes currently have a five-year statute of limitations. Some serious crimes such as capital murder or treason have no statute of limitations, other serious crimes such as embezzlement from a federal financial institution or racketeering have a 10 year limit.
Congress deliberately extending the limitations period in line with serious federal crimes sends a clear […]
