The Rise of Professional Enablers in the Sanctions World

‘What we’re really seeing is the use of professional enablers, both by oligarchs to continue to hide their assets, and also in the export controls sanctions cases where they’re using shell corporations to hide the true shipment of goods’ In the latest episode of the Sanctions Space Podcast, Justine is joined by Jonathan Schnatz, Special Agent and Senior Analyst at the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS:CI). Speaking on the margins of ACAMS Europe conference, they discuss sanctions evasion trends, including how the IRS:CI targets professional enablers of financial crime, common tactics for avoiding export controls, and the critical importance of public-private information sharing and cooperation. Special Agent Jonathan Schnatz is a Senior Analyst with IRS Criminal Investigation. Jonathan chairs the IRS:CI Professional Enabler Group as part of the Joint Chiefs of Global Tax Enforcement (J5). The J5 is an alliance between the criminal tax authorities of Australia, Canada, Netherlands, United Kingdom, and United States focused on combatting transnational tax and financial crimes. The Enabler Group collaborates through sharing intelligence to identify and disrupt offshore service providers, promoters, and financial institutions facilitating financial crimes.