Sanctions Enforcement Surge Reflects Treasury Unit’s Backlog

Companies doing business with sanctioned foreign entities have already been hit with $1.28 billion in U.S. government fines and settlements this year, which is higher than any year-end total in at least a decade.

A backlog of pending cases against an increasingly diverse set of industries at the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Asset Control -- rather than new enforcement activity -- may be driving the high total, attorneys told Bloomberg Law.

More fines could be in the works. Cases related to recent sanction designations tied to high risk-countries such as Iran have likely not made their way through OFAC’s ...