Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. Descartes Visual Compliance offers modular and affordable solutions that help organizations meet their specific export compliance needs. Among the solutions offered are:

If an organization has subsidiaries and offices abroad, sending them items may count as exports, and be subject to the relevant export controls. This also includes the transfer of information, which may count as a “deemed export.”

Yes. The United States is not the only country that maintains watch lists of denied and restricted parties, and sanctioned entities. Many countries maintain similar lists of their own—for instance, the Government of Canada’s Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OFSI)—as do international organizations like the United Nations and the World Bank.

Yes. For several reasons ranging from supporting terrorism to narcotics, the U.S. Department of Treasury has placed restrictions upon numerous entities. Doing business with any entity on an OFAC watch list is a violation of U.S. export regulations, and punishable with civil and criminal penalties and monetary fines. In 2019, OFAC fines exceeded $1.3 billion.

Making sure you are not doing business with a sanctioned entity—a process that includes screening and OFAC sanctions list searches—is essential to help ensure your organization is complying with international trade regulations, and to help protect it from fines, penalties, and the negative media coverage that often follows.

Yes. There are a number of denied party lists of individuals, entities, and countries that, for a variety of reasons, the U.S. Departments of State, Commerce, and others, as well as international governmental agencies, have placed trade restrictions upon. Watch lists against which organizations are expected to screen include:

If an organization conducts business with entities on these watch lists, they are risking an export violation that could result in fines and other penalties. By making sure that they avoid doing business with anyone on a government watch list, companies are helping to protect themselves against said fines, other criminal and civil penalties, denial of export privileges, and negative media coverage.

Yes. All organizations doing business in the United States must adhere to U.S. regulations regarding export compliance. Organizations doing business in other countries may be subject to additional export regulations based on those countries’ jurisdictions as well.

Yes. Every transaction facilitated in U.S. Dollars is processed through the U.S., and is therefore subject to OFAC regulations. Banks processing the transaction have an obligation to freeze funds from being transferred to sanctioned parties or face penalties themselves. To avoid this possibility, and a potential OFAC violation, screening is recommended.

International financial agencies also have their own lists, so screening can help avoid fines and other penalties from global regulatory and enforcement bodies.

Yes. There are a number of denied party lists of individuals, entities and countries that, for a variety of reasons, the U.S. Departments of State, Commerce and Treasury, and international governmental agencies, have placed restrictions upon conducting business. U.S. regulations generally apply to U.S. exporters, while international regulations may apply to U.S. and foreign exporters doing business in those respective jurisdictions. Screening watch lists against which organizations are expected to screen include:

If an organization conducts business with entities on these watch lists, they are risking an export violation that could result in fines and other penalties. By making sure that to avoid doing business with anyone on a government watch list, companies are helping to protect themselves against said fines, other criminal and civil penalties, denial of export privileges, and negative media coverage.

Yes. A number of companies have been fined for knowingly and unknowingly violating trade, export and financial compliance regulations. In 2018, 30 individuals and businesses were convicted; and $1,101,431,225 in fines, $9,642,496 in forfeitures, and 506 months of imprisonment were handed down by the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) alone. A list of recent OFAC actions can be found here.