OFAC hits aviation firm with fine for alleged Sudan breaches

US company allegedly leased aircraft engines to designated entity.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control (‘OFAC’) of the US Department of the Treasury has announced that it has reached a settlement – value of $210,000 – with a US (Florida-based) company, to settle potential civil liability for 12 apparent violations of the Sudanese Sanctions Regulations, 31 C.F.R. part 538 (‘SSR’).

OFAC says that the company, Apollo Aviation (now trading as Carlyle Aviation Partners Ltd.), ‘appears to have violated §§ 538.201 and 538.205 when it leased three aircraft engines to an entity incorporated in the United Arab Emirates (“Company 1”), which then subleased the engines to a Ukrainian airline (“Company 2”), which then installed the engines on an aircraft wet leased to Sudan Airways (“Sudan Air”).’

At the time of the transactions, OFAC says, Sudan Air was identified on OFAC’s SDN list as ‘meeting the definition of “Government of Sudan.”’

OFAC said: ‘The lease agreements Apollo entered into with Company 1 contained a provision prohibiting the lessee from maintaining, operating, flying, or transferring the engines to any countries subject to United States or United Nations sanctions.

Notwithstanding the inclusion of this clause, Apollo did not ensure the aircraft engines were utilized in a manner that complied with OFAC’s regulations. For example, at the time, Apollo did not obtain U.S. law export compliance certificates from lessees and sublessees.’

See: https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/OFAC-Enforcement/Pages/20191107_33.aspx