US fines Exxon Mobil for violations of anti-Russia sanctions

WASHINGTON/MOSCOW, Jul 20 (PRIME) -- The U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has fined global oil company Exxon Mobil U.S. $2 million for violating sanctions against Russia in May 2014, OFAC said on Thursday.

The presidents of the company’s U.S. subsidiaries signed eight legal documents related to oil and gas projects in Russia with Igor Sechin, CEO of Russian oil major Rosneft, between May 14 and May 23, 2014.

OFAC determined that Exxon Mobil did not voluntarily self-disclose the violations to OFAC, and that the violations constitute an egregious case.

A spokesperson for Exxon Mobil told PRIME that OFAC’s actions to fine the company were unfair. Each of the signed deals is related only to business of Rosneft, it said.

“Exxon Mobil followed the clear guidance from the White House and Treasury Department when its representatives signed documents involving ongoing oil and gas activities in Russia with Rosneft – a non-blocked entity – that were countersigned on behalf of Rosneft by CEO Igor Sechin in his official representative capacity,” the company said in a press release.

“Based on the Enforcement Information published today, OFAC is trying to retroactively enforce a new interpretation of an executive order that is inconsistent with the explicit and unambiguous guidance from the White House and Treasury issued before the relevant conduct and still publicly available today. OFAC’s action is fundamentally unfair.”

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