Should Companies Fess Up to Potential Sanctions Breaches?

International Trade attorney Jonathan Epstein spoke to Lloyd's List about voluntary self-disclosures (VSD). The U.S. Department of Treasury, U.S. Department of Commerce and U.S. Department of Justice have recently stated that companies who self-report potential breaches of sanctions or export controls could avoid prosecution or see their penalties cut by half. The departments have also encouraged blowing the whistle on sanctions and export control violations, as the U.S. tries to limit Russia's access to a growing list of technologies and goods. Mr. Epstein commented that VSD allow companies to "control the narrative" in dealings with U.S. agencies.

"While there have been some big outliers, in particular multibillion-dollar civil penalty settlements with certain banks — the penalties are usually much lower, so making the disclosures often make a lot of sense," he said.

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