Treasury Sanctions Individuals and Entities as Members of the Pacnet Group

WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated the PacNet Group (“PacNet”) as a significant transnational criminal organization (TCO) pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13581, “Blocking Property of Transnational Criminal Organizations.”  PacNet, an international payments processor and money services business, has a lengthy history of money laundering by knowingly processing payments on behalf of a wide range of mail fraud schemes that target victims in the United States and throughout the world.  PacNet is the seventh TCO targeted under E.O. 13581. As part of today’s action, OFAC is also designating a global network of 12 individuals and 24 entities across 18 countries.  Specifically, these individuals and entities are being targeted for materially assisting, sponsoring, or providing financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, PacNet, or for being owned or controlled by other persons being designated as part of this action.  As a result of today’s action, all property and interests in property of the designated persons subject to U.S. jurisdiction are blocked, and U.S. persons are prohibited from engaging in transactions with them.