On February 3, 2017, the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control issued a finding of violation against Taiwan-based B Whale Corp. (BWC), a member of the Taiwan-based shipping company TMT Group. The finding of violation was issued for activity occurring entirely outside the United States, based on the jurisdictional finding that “BWC was a US person … because it was present in the United States for the bankruptcy proceedings when the transaction occurred.” The case has led to much speculation on whether OFAC has asserted a broad new theory of jurisdiction that may now impact non-US companies conducting business entirely outside the United States. For an overview of some of the key facts of the case, as well as observations of OFAC’s assertion of jurisdiction in the context of the particular facts and US court proceeding, please see the full Law360 article here, authored by Peter Jeydel, Ed Krauland, and Fil Agusti of Steptoe.
