Episode 192 -- The SAP Settlement: A New Compliance Frontier

In a precedent-setting agreement, the Justice Department, OFAC and the Bureau of Industry Security announced a settlement with SAP SE for more than $8 million for numerous violations of the Iran Sanctions program.

While the Justice Department’s National Security Division (“NSD”) has settled prior export control and sanctions cases against corporations for violations of the North Korea Sanctions program, the SAP case is the first in which DOJ’s NSD flexed its new Export Control and Sanctions Enforcement Policy for Business Organizations, crediting voluntary disclosure, cooperation and remediation. Further, the SAP settlement provides important insights into DOJ’s export control and sanctions compliance expectations.

The SAP case pushes DOJ’s views and expectations for export control and sanctions compliance programs.  Like the past history of enforcement actions and compliance program requirements involving the FCPA, DOJ’s SAP settlement is the beginning of a new, aggressive approach to export and sanctions compliance standards beyond those required by OFAC and BIS.

In this Episode, Michael Volkov review the SAP settlement and outlines new export control and sanctions compliance expectations.