OFAC Basics: Applying for a License to Release Blocked Funds

[Music] thank you for tuning in to this video by the treasury Department's office of foreign assets control or ofac in this video we will cover the information you need to fill out a specific license application we recommend you watch our previous video my funds were blocked now what to get more context that video is linked in the description below before we get started you should be aware that if you send in an application to have your block funds released but the US Bank hasn't submitted a report to ofac to let us know they blocked the funds your application will be returned without action often payments are stopped because banks are conducting their own compliance review this means the funds may not actually be blocked by ofac for this reason you will want to contact your bank and confirm they sent a report to ofac before you move forward if you are seeking a specific license for reasons other than the release of blocked funds this video may be helpful but it will not answer every question you may have if you have questions about our other types of applications please refer to our license application portal for answers to some frequently asked questions the second important thing to know is that all documents you submit must be in English or have an English translation finally it's very important to note that blocked funds are not transferred to ofac blocked funds remain with the US Bank that blocked the transaction assuming the funds have been blocked because of us sanctions the US Bank can only release those blocked funds if ofac grants a specific license to release the funds or if the relevant sanctions that apply to your transaction are lifted with that let's get started first you will need as much information as you can provide about who was involved in the original transaction specifically who sent the money and who was supposed to receive the money you will need the part's addresses contact information and other identifying information please send in two different forms of government ID such as a scan of your passport scan of your driver's license or scan of your birth certificate you will need the transaction information if it was a funds transfer that means the name and address of the bank that was sending the money and the bank that was receiving the money you'll also need the date and amount of the transaction we also need to know about the reason for the transaction so you should write up a brief description of why the money was sent in the first place for example were you sending to a friend or family member was it payment for goods or services the third thing you will need is information about why the transfer was blocked when a US Bank blocks funds they must report that to ofac and explain why you should ask your bank or the bank that blocked the transaction what reason they gave for blocking the funds that means you will need to contact your bank and ask which institution blocked the funds and if possible when they blocked it if your bank does not provide this information please include all the information you have about the transaction finally you should gather up any other documents you need to support your application if the blocked funds were for goods or services be sure to include any invoices bill of lighting or contracts now that you've gathered all the required information you're ready to fill out the license application you can find ofac's online licensing portal on our website at oak. treasury.gov once you're on the ofac homepage scroll down and click the learn more button of the green box titled apply for a license next you'll click the blue apply for an ofac license button you should now be looking at the ofac license portal before we get started please note that at this time the portal does not allow you to save applications so it is important that you are prepared to start and finish your application in one setting if possible please use a browser on your desktop or laptop computer instead of a mobile device please double check all required fields on the form to make sure that they were filled out and make sure that autofilled fields are correct before moving to the next step once you're on the licensing portal you should be looking at this page the first thing you will do is review and agree to the terms of the application please be sure to read it before signing it provides helpful information about the types of documents you need to submit how to submit documents in foreign languages and the importance of keeping a copy of your application for your records it also includes legal conditions for anyone who receives a specific license which you should read in detail after you agree you will have to choose the type of application you would like to submit we'll choose release of blocked funds and then we'll click begin the next screen has some instructions and you can read this over but since you're watching this video let's go ahead and click next throughout this process you'll see that some Fields have a red star this means the field is required and must be filled out you can click the blue question mark next to any field to see additional information about what should be included this is step one of the application process here you will indicate in the first box whether this is a new application or if you are asking ofac to reconsider a past application if you have not applied for the release of these blocked funds before it would be considered a new application if you have already applied for the release of these same blocked funds previously and received a response from ofac you should select the reconsideration option next you will will create your own application reference ID for your records something short and easy to remember in this case we'll use John do blocked funds the third box asks you which sanctions program is relevant to your application if you click on the arrow on the right side of this box and scroll down you will see a list of shorthand names of our sanctions programs some sanctions programs have multiple options and may even include a related executive order number the best way to quickly identify the correct program is to review the notification message you received from your bank when your funds were blocked or contact your bank to ask them which sanctions program was implicated but if you don't have any of this information don't worry you can narrow down the options by considering which countries are related to your case and then read through the options for this example let's pretend you were trying to send money to your sister who lives in Cuba since your application isn't related to traveling to or from Cuba you would instead choose Cuba in addition to selecting the relevant program the next field asks you to describe the nature of your blocked funds request take a quick look at the list of subcategories and select one if it seems applicable for this example we will choose personal remittances since you were trying to send money to a family member if you cannot find a category that makes sense you can go ahead and leave this blank you can leave the previous license number box blank if this is your first license request to unblock These funds next provide a description of your situation in the reason for application box this helps our Licensing Division quickly understand who you are why you are applying for a license and what documents you're including in your application you'll want to tell us the purpose of the transaction what you know about why the funds were blocked by a US Bank and information about any other parties involved in sending or receiving the money you can also expand the size of this box by clicking on the bottom right corner and dragging downward to give yourself a bit more room to write in our case you would write my name is John Doe I sent a payment of $200 from my bank account at America Bank in Washington DC I sent the money to my sister Jane Doe who lives in Havana Cuba on December 29th 2023 her bank account is at Cuba bank my bank America Bank told me they blocked my funds on January 1st 2024 I am attaching a copy of my driver's license and passport and my sister's national ID card and passport once you're done click next next you will provide us with your contact information if you are filling out the application on your own behalf please fill out the entire applicant section in our example you are an individual person not an institution so you'll click that button to make sure person is selected and then fill out your information if you're filling the this out for yourself go ahead and click the correspondent is the same as applicant box if you are filling out the application on behalf of someone else you will put your information in the correspondent section and their information in the applicant section please note that the correspondent information is only copied after the box is ticked so please fill out the entire top half before clicking the box now that our contact information is in let's click next step three we'll ask to provide information about the blocked funds for our example you will put 200 in the Box as the blocked amount in the second box you will write the name of the currency type used in the transaction such as Cuban pesos Euros or in this case us we'll also put the date the transaction was blocked which you should have gotten from your bank or the bank that blocked your funds next you will need to provide the information of the US Bank that blocked the funds this information is important because ofac will use it to verify that we have received a blocking report from the US Bank please note that if ofac has not received a blocking report we are unable to process your application now we'll click next step four will ask you for personal information about the person or institution that attempted to send the funds that person is called the remitter fill out the remitters personal information completely along with information about the remaining financial institution which just means the bank that holds the account that was used to originally send the money this may or may not be the same bank that blocked the funds in our example it is and with that we'll click next if you know that your funds transaction was processed through an intermediary financial institution you can put their information here otherwise go ahead and click next in the sixth step we'll do the same thing we did in step four but this time it's for the person and the bank receiving the money in our example you were sending money to your sister in Cuba who has an account at Cuba bank once you're done filling out her information you will click next we're almost done the second to last step is to provide all the documents related to this transaction this includes original payment details or transfer instructions screenshots of block transaction corespond from your bank and copies of your two government issued IDs if applicable you should also include invoices bills of lighting contracts or any other relevant documents these should provide more detail and help verify the description you provided back in step one about the parties involved and the purpose of the transaction you can also upload a cover letter to provide an overall narrative describing your transaction we'll go ahead and click choose file and and then upload our documents one at a time you must attach at least one document in this step and we ask that you label each one clearly and this example we'll say that you've attached a scan of your passport your driver's license your sister's national ID card a scan of her passport the original notice from the bank that the transfer was blocked and a letter explaining the transaction don't forget that any documents in a foreign language must have an English translation attached as well once you upload your documents with clear names you can move on to the final step at this stage you can still return to the previous steps to review your application so please double check that there are no mistakes and that you've included all of your documents once you submit the application you cannot revise it you would need to file an amendment request in the portal referencing your first submission once you have reviewed everything you will need to sign and submit the application you may also request a confirmation email this initial confirmation email may take 5 to 10 minutes to come through so please wait and be sure to check your spam inbox in the email you will receive the reference ID which you created earlier after the first email confirming receipt your case will be referred to the licensing team who will create a case number which you will receive in a subsequent email the time it takes to receive a case number varies but until you receive one via email from ofac please retain the reference ID that you created for your records once you receive an ofac issued case number number please refer to that number and all Communications with ofac to check your case status simply return to the ofac licensing portal and click check application status click begin and input the ofac issued case number into the dialog box to receive a realtime update on your case you shouldn't use your reference ID here only your OAC issued case number if you have any other questions please visit ofac's FAQ page on ofac licenses where we answer some of the most frequently asked questions about license applications thank you for watching