David Horn has left his position as acting chief counsel at the Office of Foreign Assets Control after taking over the role in August, he announced on LinkedIn last week. Horn had worked at OFAC since 2023, including as assistant chief counsel and an attorney-adviser.
Uzbekistan national and resident Saodat Narzieva sued the Office of Foreign Assets Control and OFAC Director Bradley Smith Dec. 2, saying the agency mistakenly included her in an April 2023 round of Russia-related sanctions, causing her "substantial" harm.
VFC Solutions, a sanctioned Cypriot investment firm, filed a lawsuit against the Office of Foreign Assets Control for denying its petition to be delisted from the Specially Designated National and Blocked Persons List (SDN List), arguing that the agency acted "arbitrarily and capriciously" by denying the petition based on "speculation and conjecture."
Kuang Chiang, a former licensing officer at the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control, has joined Morrison Foerster as of counsel in its national security group, the firm announced this week. Most recently, Chiang was counsel at A&O Shearman, where she worked for more than eight years. Chiang served as a licensing officer at OFAC during 2009-2012.
Blake Hulnick left his role as an attorney adviser with the Office of Foreign Assets Control to rejoin Covington, where he will advise on economic sanctions, export controls and other national security-related enforcement topics. Hulnick had worked at OFAC since July 2023.
The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Sept. 29 upheld the Office of Foreign Assets Control's addition of Iranian company Bahman Group to the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN) list. Judge Randolph Moss held that OFAC's denial of Bahman's delisting petition wasn't impermissibly predetermined, finding that even if OFAC's decision could be set aside under the Administrative Procedure Act for being pre-decided, "the record offers no basis for concluding that OFAC’s decision-making in this case was pretextual or irredeemably biased under any standard" (Bahman Group v. Lisa Palluconi, D.D.C. # 22-3826).
Stephanie Connor left her position as assistant director of the Office of Foreign Asset Control's Policy Division to join Holland & Knight's international trade group. Connor, who first joined OFAC in 2022 as an assistant chief counsel, will advise on OFAC sanctions issues, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. regulations, and more.
Trade Law Daily is providing readers with the top stories from last week, in case you missed them. All articles can be found by searching on the title or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
Trade Law Daily is providing readers with the top stories from last week, in case you missed them. All articles can be found by searching on the title or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
Rachel Alpert has left her role as chief counsel for the Office of Foreign Assets Control, she announced on LinkedIn. She was named to the position in October 2023 (see 2310250061).