Small Business Reading Room


Wednesday, October 20, 2004

CYA with FBI, State, Treasury, CIA, Commerce...

A representative of the United States Treasury's Office of Foreign Asset Control lectured to incorporation agents attending the Delaware Division of Corporations' Strategic Planning Conference about our obligations under Federal Law. (See our statement of compliance in a previous post).

It turns out that there are more than half a dozen departments of the Federal Government that publish lists of persons, businesses and even boats that we are prohibited from doing business with.

Agencies that publish prohibited persons' lists:

  • US Treasury Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC)

  • Department of Commerce

  • Department of State

  • Office of the President

  • Department of Labor

  • Department of Treasury, Other

  • Federal Bureau of Investigation

  • Central Intelligence Agency


The only known way to comply with the regulations is to purchase and use screening software. Our research so far indicates the software varies widely in quality and usefulness of the results. Prices for this software range from $1,000.00 per year on up.

The Federal Government has been working for about a year to compile a master list of names. This effort has, so far, yielded nothing. While we agree that compliance is our responsibility, we think the government has a responsibility to make compliance less burdensome.

Any business with ties to the United States should research its responsibility under the various laws and regulations of the departments and agencies listed above.

We would like to thank our friends at Federal Express for screening all of our shipments.
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Tuesday, October 19, 2004

OFAC = "Office of Foreign Asset Control"

All United States citizens and permanent residents, all US Entities - including US subsidiaries of foreign entities and foreign subsidiaries of US entities - and all persons located in the United States of America, must comply with various sanctions programs imposed by the Government of the United States.

These sanctions programs are administered by the Treasury Departments Office of Foreign Asset Control in Washington, D.C. There are also restrictions that arise from other law enforcement activities carried out by the FBI, CIA, Secret Service, Homeland Defense Department and others.

A representative of the Treasury's OFAC presented at the Delaware Strategic Planning Conference in Rehoboth Beach, DE last week. She informed us of our responsibilities in this area and the OFAC just posted our industry guidance on their website today at http://www.treas.gov/offices/enforcement/ofac/regulations/. The guidance for incorporation agents is available under the heading Corporate Registration Industry.
According to the regulations we must check every name we see associated with any particular incorporation order against the Federal lists of prohibited persons. Delaware Intercorp, Inc. intends to comply. We will do everything in our power to prevent our company from being used by a prohibited person.
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Delaware Intercorp, Inc.
113 Barksdale Professional center
Newark, DE 19711-3258

"For all the best reasons to incorporate,the best place
is Delaware and the best incorporator is
Delaware Intercorp!"

Call Monday - Friday 09:00 (am) - 17:00 (pm) Eastern Time (GMT-05:00)

Toll Free - USA only - 888.324.1817
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FAX: 302.266.9940
Email: info@delawareintercorp.com