Startups Have To Care About Violating U.S. Sanctions Laws, Too

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) doesn’t care whether a company means to violate the law or is unaware of U.S. sanctions. The regulatory organization’s role is to dole out significant penalties and even jail time for violations and it’s turning its sights on the tech world.

Many startups reason that since they aren’t technically financial institutions or operating off of open source code, they aren’t subject to stifling and irritating regulations.

However, when it comes to U.S. sanctions, these companies are wrong, and that ignorance can lead to significant consequences. Recent headline-making OFAC cases such as Chinese telecom giant ZTE being fined $1.2 billion or the high-drama Canadian arrest of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou have underscored the impact of violating U.S. sanctions laws.