Economic Sanctions

When
May 01, 2017
Location
Procopio, Cory, Hargreaves & Savitch LLP

The San Diego World Affairs Council presents:

Serena Moe

"Economic Sanctions"

Economic sanctions against foreign governments, entities and even individuals are often in the news, but who really understands them? Sanctions may make us feel righteous, but how effective are they in reality?

Serena Moe is one of the country’s foremost experts on sanctions, having worked extensively in this arena both for the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), which administers and enforces sanctions, and the financial services industry, which must strictly comply with sanctions.

Ms. Moe will discuss the legal basis for imposing sanctions and the history of presidential actions in this area. She will also address the current state of sanctions imposed against Russia over its actions in Ukraine, the remaining sanctions on Iran, and the ongoing North Korea sanctions, as indicators of trends in the use of economic sanctions.

About Our Speaker

Serena Moe recently retired as Director for Regulatory Compliance at Citigroup Inc., where she served as the primary interface with OFAC. Previously, Ms. Moe was a member of the international trade practice at the Washington, D.C., law firm Wiley Rein LLP, where she advised financial institutions and other businesses on compliance issues related to economic sanctions.

From 1997 to 2011, she served as the General Counsel for Economic Sanctions at Citi, advising all Citi businesses on legal issues related to economic sanctions and anti-corruption.

Previously, Ms. Moe was Deputy Chief Counsel at OFAC. She joined the agency’s legal staff in 1988, and, among other positions, served as principal attorney for the Cuban embargo and the sanctions used to protect Kuwaiti assets. Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin presented Ms. Moe the Department’s Meritorious Service Award for her ability to “develop workable regulatory approaches to the implementation of complex U.S. foreign policy."

Ms. Moe received a B.A. and an M.A. from Stanford University and her J.D. from George Washington University.