OFAC Now Allowing Conference to Invite Sanctioned Speakers, Settlement Agreement Shows
U.S. persons may be able to host sanctioned people as speakers at overseas conferences without a specific authorization, the Office of Foreign Assets Control said, marking an apparent reversal of the agency’s previous sanctions policy for speaking engagements.
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The decision came two years after OFAC denied a license request from the non-profit Foundation for Global Political Exchange, which had asked the agency for permission to allow several sanctioned people to speak at the 2023 Beirut Exchange, a conference meant to foster discussions about Lebanon. The non-profit sued OFAC, saying OFAC didn’t have the authority to block the sanctioned people from speaking, adding that the move violated the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment. The two sides reached a settlement last month after OFAC decided that allowing the people to attend and speak at the conference wouldn’t violate U.S. sanctions laws.
In a letter to the foundation, which was attached to the case’s stipulation of dismissal, OFAC said that including sanctioned people as speakers at the conference, as well as “actions ordinarily incident to facilitating their participation as speakers,” would not be a “service prohibited by U.S. sanctions and thus no authorization is necessary.”
OFAC stressed that the foundation made several promises to the agency, including that it wouldn’t carry out “any financial transaction” with the sanctioned people, give them any “thing of value” and wouldn’t act on “their behalf.” The foundation also agreed not to “provide any specialized training or assistance” to the sanctioned speakers.
The agency noted that the speakers were invited “for the purpose of facilitating political dialogue,” and the U.S. “does not seek to prohibit the type of conduct described in the information you have provided.” If the foundation wants to hold future events under similar circumstances with sanctioned people, the letter said “no authorization from OFAC is necessary.”
But OFAC also told the foundation that its decision was “based upon the facts and representations you have provided,” and it may not apply to other speaking engagements, including instances where sanctioned people have used conferences to “engage in conduct that threatens U.S. national security, such as using conferences as a platform to recruit and collect intelligence on attendees, facilitate connections among those who would seek to harm U.S. persons or interests, or provide training or instruction in how to launder money, evade U.S. sanctions, or otherwise violate U.S. sanctions.”
The law firm Morgan Lewis said it’s not a guarantee that OFAC will apply this same policy in other circumstances, noting that the OFAC letter outlines “limited circumstances” in which U.S. people and companies can “legally interact” with sanctioned parties.
“Since the result is specific to the request made by [the foundation], the question of what types of activities by [Specially Designated Nationals] at conferences might be permitted remains unclear,” the law firm said this week. It also said U.S. people should be careful not to “relay or receive technical information” from a sanctioned person, “or provide them with a service of any kind.”
But the firm also said this settlement, which “appears to be a reversal of previous policy,” could set a precedent for future sanctions policy changes.
“The decision marks a rare instance in which an activity is not included in the definition of a service and could open the door for further discussion or litigation on the First Amendment limitations on US sanctions law,” the firm said.