OFSI imposes monetary penalty for Syria sanctions violations

On September 9, 2019, the UK Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation of HM Treasury imposed a monetary penalty of £146,342 on Telia Carrier UK Limited, an international provider of telecommunications services.  The penalty, announced by OFSI on October 28, 2019, resulted from breaches of the European Union Financial Sanctions Regulations 2012 regarding Syria.  According to OFSI, Telia made economic resources available to SyriaTel, a designated entity, by facilitating international telephone calls to that company.  OFSI found that Telia had not made a voluntary disclosure of the alleged violation, and on July 15, 2019 imposed a penalty of £300,000.  Upon Ministerial review pursuant to section 147 of the Policing and Crime Act 2017 (PACA), and following clarifications by Telia, the assessed value of the breaches was reduced from £480,000 to £234,000, and the penalty amount was reduced from £300,000 to £146,341.  OFSI reminded companies to carry out appropriate financial sanctions screening, and act on the results by not dealing with the funds of designated persons, freezing such funds, and informing OFSI.

Monetary Penalty