On June 1, 2026, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), an office of the Department of Treasury, published an “Introduction to the Office of Foreign Assets Control.” OFAC administers and enforces economic sanctions against targeted foreign jurisdictions and regimes, as well as individuals and entities engaging in harmful activity, such as terrorists, international narcotics traffickers, weapons of mass destruction proliferators, and others in response to threats to the national security, foreign policy, or economy of the United States.
The guide may prove a useful resource for companies and individuals who have little experience with U.S. sanctions and need to quickly acquire a fundamental understanding. The guide provides a high-level overview of the requirements imposed by OFAC sanctions. The topics covered in the guide also include a high-level overview of how to request a license from OFAC, how people and entities may be removed from an OFAC sanctions list, and how OFAC enforces its sanctions.
OFAC issued the guidance to be used as a resource by the public to better understand OFAC’s expectations and thereby continue to strengthen the effectiveness of OFAC sanction. The guidance does not appear to set any new policies, and incorporates several other long-standing, more detailed OFAC guidance documents.