GKG Law Associate Oliver Krischik Quoted in New York Times Article "For Mexico’s Marquez, Treasury Sanctions Carry Broad Consequences"
The New York Times
This August 10, 2017 New York Times article quotes GKG Law's Oliver Krischik in connection with his analysis of the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designation of Rafael Márquez, the captain of the Mexican national soccer team.
By Kevin Draper
Rafael Márquez’s life just became a lot more difficult.
On Wednesday, the United States Treasury Department accused Márquez, the captain of Mexico’s national soccer team, and several businesses connected to him of acting as fronts and holding assets for a major drug trafficking organization. The designation — Márquez was placed on the Office of Foreign Assets Control’s (OFAC) list of so-called Specially Designated Nationals — had immediate effects on Marquez personally, among them the freezing of his assets in the United States and a general prohibition on Americans’ having dealings with him.
But according to several lawyers with experience in similar cases, the sanctions also could have a wide-ranging effect on Márquez’s Mexican club team, Atlas; the Mexican soccer federation; marketing partners and sponsors for both organizations; and even FIFA and the United States Soccer Federation, which are working with Mexico’s federation on a bid to be a host of the 2026 World Cup with Canada.
In theory, given the potential consequences for doing business with Márquez, his continued presence on the list could even prevent him from playing for his club, or his country, again.
…
Even more mundane services, such as if Márquez has a life or health insurance policy with an American company, could be affected, because any payments to him in American dollars will pass through American banks where, by law, they must be frozen.
“Generally, for my clients, even if they are foreign companies, the recommendation is to cut all ties with S.D.N.s,” said Oliver Krischik, a lawyer at GKG Law who focuses on OFAC sanctions. “You’d be surprised by how entangled financial transactions are at banks.”
The full article may be read here.
