Daily Compliance Brief — OFAC Issues New Designations Under Intellectual Property Theft Sanctions Authority

October 20, 2026

Signal

On October 19, 2026, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) published new designations under the Protecting American Intellectual Property Act of 2022 and issued associated general licenses. The action appears in OFAC's official Recent Actions register and is linked to a U.S. Department of State announcement titled Imposing Sanctions to Protect Americans from Intellectual Property Theft.

The published action establishes a new sanctions-screening event for institutions and businesses with relevant U.S. exposure. The available OFAC listing confirms the date and legal framework, but the details of the underlying designations could not be independently verified from the accessible announcement in this review.

Why it matters

Sanctions-screening teams should review the official OFAC notice and current sanctions lists before determining whether customer, counterparty, or payment records match newly designated parties. Any changes should be implemented through controlled list updates, with documented testing of screening coverage and escalation procedures.

The associated general licenses also require review. Institutions should confirm whether any relevant activity is authorized under the applicable license terms rather than assuming that a designation prohibits every transaction or that a general license provides unrestricted permission.