Office of Foreign Assets Control

The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is a financial intelligence and enforcement agency of the U.S. government charged with planning and execution of economic and trade sanctions in support of U.S. national security and foreign policy objectives. Acting under Presidential national emergency powers, OFAC carries out its activities against foreign states as well as a variety of problematic organizations and individuals deemed to be a threat to U.S. national security.

A component of the U.S. Treasury Department, OFAC operates under the auspices of the Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence and is primarily composed of intelligence targeters and lawyers. While many of OFAC's targets are broadly set by the White House, most individual cases are developed as a result of lengthy investigations by OFAC's Office of Global Targeting (OGT).

Often described as one of the most powerful yet unknown government agencies, OFAC has been in existence for more than a half-century and is playing an increasingly significant role as a foreign policy lever of the U.S. government. The agency is empowered to levy significant penalties against entities that defy it, including imposing colossal fines, freezing assets, and altogether barring parties from operating in the U.S. Notably, in 2014, OFAC reached a record $1 billion settlement with the French BNP Paribas, which was a portion of approximately $9 billion penalty imposed in relation to the case as a whole.