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The US Treasury Department announced that the financial firm American Express Company (Amex) will pay a fine of $ 204 277 for the alleged violation of the blockade imposed on Cuba.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced that this sanction is related to the possible liability of the Belgian company BCC Corporate S.A. (BCCC) in apparent infractions to the Regulations of Control of Cuban Assets.
As the text clarifies, BCCC is a company that issues credit cards and corporate services to customers based in Europe. “At the time of the apparent violations, BCCC was a subsidiary of the Alpha Card Group, which in turn was 50% owned by Amex, a United States financial institution.”
According to the OFAC, Amex agreed to remit the 204 277 dollars to settle a possible civil liability in the matter.
The office of the Treasury Department reported that from April 9, 2009 to February 3, 2014, the credit cards that BCCC had issued to its corporate clients were used to make purchases in Cuba.
Most transactions between the United States, or persons subject to U.S. jurisdiction, and Cuba continue to be prohibited, and OFAC continues to enforce the prohibitions of the CACR. Specifically, OFAC is issuing changes to: restrict persons subject to U.S. jurisdiction from engaging in direct financial transactions with entities and subentities identified on the State Department’s Cuba Restricted List and Subentities Associated with Cuba, with certain exceptions; add requirements to certain categories of educational travel; remove the authorization for individual people-to-people educational travel; add requirements to the travel authorization Support for the Cuban People.