GuyMcBeerdrinker
poonsmith
3.22 still no reply from the man.
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I got a letter
- Thread starter GuyMcBeerdrinker
- Start date
GuyMcBeerdrinker
poonsmith
3+ months and counting. still no reply from the man.
GuyMcBeerdrinker
poonsmith
anyone have any news? I've been waiting for the report from a supposed insider. perhaps it was posted somewhere that I haven't checked.
)
GuyMcBeerdrinker
poonsmith
the last major update I read stated:
"With regard to da man's approach to prosecuting violations of the Trading With The Enemies Act/Helms-Burton, the "insider" stated that they simply march down the list name by name and send out R or W letters as appropriate.
Furthermore, on the first pass down this list, if the recipient admits to an alleged violation and cooperates by settling as in paying a penalty, their name comes off the list and that is the end of it. However, if the recipient stonewalls, lies, or otherwise does not cooperate, their name goes on a secondary list. Once the primary list is exhausted, OFAC would then start going down the secondary list. The implication by the "insider" was that follow-up enforcement would be more aggressive with stakes raised."
it was posted at the end of april.
"With regard to da man's approach to prosecuting violations of the Trading With The Enemies Act/Helms-Burton, the "insider" stated that they simply march down the list name by name and send out R or W letters as appropriate.
Furthermore, on the first pass down this list, if the recipient admits to an alleged violation and cooperates by settling as in paying a penalty, their name comes off the list and that is the end of it. However, if the recipient stonewalls, lies, or otherwise does not cooperate, their name goes on a secondary list. Once the primary list is exhausted, OFAC would then start going down the secondary list. The implication by the "insider" was that follow-up enforcement would be more aggressive with stakes raised."
it was posted at the end of april.
I see over on CW someone is saying that the pre penalty notices will be delivered soon to all of those who got letters. Of course take that w/ a grain of salt because unless you work for the ofca then you dont really know what is going on, when.
As lifted from the LA paper today in an article headed:
THOSE CUBAN CIGARS ARE GETTING EXPENSIVE:
Los Angeles, June 13 – The government office responsible for monitoring violations of the U.S. trade embargo against Cuba has U.S. cigar smokers in its sights.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), a department of the U.S. Treasury, has handed out seven penalties so far this year with fines totaling $13,712.75 to Americans who “purchased Cuban-origin cigars offered for sale on the Internet.”
That’s a high level of enforcement compared to past years. For example, in all of 2006, OFAC handed out only two such penalties, and late in the year, with fines totaling $2,189. Most of the penalties issued by OFAC to individuals prior to the fourth quarter of last year were for unauthorized travel to Cuba or the sale of goods or services by companies without an OFAC license to do so.
In the cigar cases handed down so far this year, penalties ranged from a low of $820 to a high of $6,088.85 for violations ranging from a single case to multiple instances:
• April: a fine of $820.00 for an individual who bought Cuban cigars on the Internet in 2005.
• April: a fine of $1,071.90 for an individual who bought cigars in 2004 and 2005.
• May: a fine of $6,088.85 for an individual who bought cigars from 2003-06.
• May: a fine of $1,261.00 for an individual who bought cigars in 2006.
• June: a fine of $856.00 for an individual who bought cigars in 2002-03.
• June: a fine of $1,311.00 for an individual who bought cigars in 2004.
• June: a fine of $2,304.00 for an individual who bought cigars in 2005-06.
It’s worth noticing that as OFAC acquires records of transactions going back as far as five years, it is imposing fines, no doubt based on the number and size of the violations. In addition, OFAC has sent letters to smokers with U.S. addresses who are suspected of being customers of Internet sites which ship Havana cigars into the United States. So while the practice continues, the U.S. Government has increased its vigilance of the Cuban cigar trade into the U.S.
In case you had any doubts, the language of the current Cuban cigar regulations, issued in September 2004, read:
“There is now an across the board ban on the importation into the United States of Cuban-origin cigars and other Cuban-origin tobacco products, as well as most other products of Cuban origin. This prohibition extends to such products acquired in Cuba, irrespective of whether a traveler is licensed by OFAC to engage in Cuba travel-related transactions, and to such products acquired in third countries by any U.S. traveler, including purchases at duty free shops. Importation of these Cuban goods is prohibited whether the goods are purchased directly by the importer or given to the importer as a gift. Similarly, the import ban extends to Cuban-origin tobacco products offered for sale over the Internet or through the catalog mail purchases.”
THOSE CUBAN CIGARS ARE GETTING EXPENSIVE:
Los Angeles, June 13 – The government office responsible for monitoring violations of the U.S. trade embargo against Cuba has U.S. cigar smokers in its sights.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), a department of the U.S. Treasury, has handed out seven penalties so far this year with fines totaling $13,712.75 to Americans who “purchased Cuban-origin cigars offered for sale on the Internet.”
That’s a high level of enforcement compared to past years. For example, in all of 2006, OFAC handed out only two such penalties, and late in the year, with fines totaling $2,189. Most of the penalties issued by OFAC to individuals prior to the fourth quarter of last year were for unauthorized travel to Cuba or the sale of goods or services by companies without an OFAC license to do so.
In the cigar cases handed down so far this year, penalties ranged from a low of $820 to a high of $6,088.85 for violations ranging from a single case to multiple instances:
• April: a fine of $820.00 for an individual who bought Cuban cigars on the Internet in 2005.
• April: a fine of $1,071.90 for an individual who bought cigars in 2004 and 2005.
• May: a fine of $6,088.85 for an individual who bought cigars from 2003-06.
• May: a fine of $1,261.00 for an individual who bought cigars in 2006.
• June: a fine of $856.00 for an individual who bought cigars in 2002-03.
• June: a fine of $1,311.00 for an individual who bought cigars in 2004.
• June: a fine of $2,304.00 for an individual who bought cigars in 2005-06.
It’s worth noticing that as OFAC acquires records of transactions going back as far as five years, it is imposing fines, no doubt based on the number and size of the violations. In addition, OFAC has sent letters to smokers with U.S. addresses who are suspected of being customers of Internet sites which ship Havana cigars into the United States. So while the practice continues, the U.S. Government has increased its vigilance of the Cuban cigar trade into the U.S.
In case you had any doubts, the language of the current Cuban cigar regulations, issued in September 2004, read:
“There is now an across the board ban on the importation into the United States of Cuban-origin cigars and other Cuban-origin tobacco products, as well as most other products of Cuban origin. This prohibition extends to such products acquired in Cuba, irrespective of whether a traveler is licensed by OFAC to engage in Cuba travel-related transactions, and to such products acquired in third countries by any U.S. traveler, including purchases at duty free shops. Importation of these Cuban goods is prohibited whether the goods are purchased directly by the importer or given to the importer as a gift. Similarly, the import ban extends to Cuban-origin tobacco products offered for sale over the Internet or through the catalog mail purchases.”
GuyMcBeerdrinker
poonsmith
topped for jeff
jwa44
After the cigar, honey!
Good info. Thanks for the ttt.