OFAC less concerned about Cuba?

[cigarros]

There were many changes in the U.S. government in 2009 and one of the most striking came at the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).

This agency spent a substantial amount of time during the Bush Administration chasing down individual purchasers of Cuban-made cigars who used the Internet to place their orders. The General Accounting Office – and the Congress – criticized OFAC in a December, 2007 report that noted the agency’s predisposition toward Cuban embargo cases. Its review found that from 2000 to 2006, 61% of OFAC’s caseload involved Cuban embargo cases, with 10,823 investigations into possible violations involving Cuba and just 6,791 investigations on all other cases!

The G.A.O. report fell on deaf ears in 2008, as 27 penalties for purchasing Cuban cigars were announced by the OFAC, carrying total fines of $39,763.08. In 2007, the OFAC announced a total of just 13 penalties for the same infractions.

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[FireDigger]

Yes, I have noticed this trend as well. In fact, the OFAC website has not posted a Release of Civil Penalties Information since October.

http://www.treas.gov/offices/enforcement/o...ions/2009.shtml

[Jesuscookies]

I sure hope so. But based on how far back the OFAC seems to search transactions, some will most definetly be screwed if the OFAC ever changes course again.

Was the basis of their original fines centered only around vendors in Hong Kong, or did they go after other locales as well?

Also, I am curious, how did the OFAC access information to see who was buying what?

[gfoster]

They can get data on what vendors people are doing business with via credit card processor records but that won't show the actual contents of the transaction. Since a lot of the info I've seen indicates that they then go into exacting detail specifying even the marque and vitolas said "offender" purchased, that has to come from digging deeper than just the processors.

Logically (as I see it, anyway, which may be faulty logic but it's all I've got) there's only three ways I can think of for them to know exactly what you've purchased.

1) You tell them and basically "confess"

2) The vendor tells them

3) They monitor your email to get shipping notices and contents.

I am not naive enough to to believe (3) is impossible, although I consider option (2) much more likely in the cases I've seen while googling across the interwebs. I do believe (2) isn't a worry at all unless you use some shoddy, shady impersonal vendor who doesn't give a rat's ass about you. Personally, with the WONDERFUL CHEERFUL AND DOWNRIGHT BRILLIANT SOURCE I use I don't think I need to worry about (2) unless I keep admitting to liking Montecristo Opens and then they just might advocate locking me up for my own good

That being said, I'm not anywhere near an expert, and this is one area where I really hope to never gain any experience

-- Gary F.

[reg]

Sounds logical to me gary. I'm sure there are plenty of sources out there that crumble when pressured by the authorities

[TR]

having intimate knowledge of the slap on the wrist letters from someone in DC, I can tell you that it is my belief that the outgoing packages were tagged in the post office of the outgoing country. PM if you further details.