U.S. Fines Exxon $2 Million Over Russia Sanctions Breaches
July 20 2017 - 1:44PM
Dow Jones News
By Samuel Rubenfeld and Lynn Cook
The U.S. Treasury Department imposed a $2 million fine on Exxon
Mobil Corp. for violating sanctions on Russia while Secretary of
State Rex Tillerson was the oil giant's chief executive.
Exxon violated U.S. sanctions on Russia during May 2014 when it
signed eight documents relating to oil and gas projects in Russia
with Igor Sechin, the president of Russian state-oil firm Rosneft,
Treasury said in an enforcement notice posted to its website.
President Barack Obama signed an executive order in March 2014
targeting those involved in an escalating conflict along the
Russia-Ukraine border, including Russia's annexation of Crimea. Mr.
Sechin was added to the U.S. sanctions list in April of that year,
with U.S. officials stressing his "utter loyalty" to President
Vladimir Putin, though he shrugged at them at the time.
Mr. Tillerson, who has deep ties to Russia and received an Order
of Friendship from Moscow, left the firm to become U.S. Secretary
of State. The $2 million fine, Treasury said, was the maximum
amount it could fine the firm. Exxon showed "reckless disregard for
U.S. sanctions requirements" when failing to consider the warning
signs associated with dealing in the blocked services of someone
under U.S. sanctions, Treasury said.
A spokesman for Exxon called the fine "outrageous" and said
Treasury's findings are a complete 180-degree turn from previous
guidance handed down by the Obama administration at the time the
sanctions were enacted.
"ExxonMobil followed the clear guidance from the White House and
Treasury Department when its representatives signed documents
involving ongoing oil and gas activities in Russia with Rosneft --
a non-blocked entity -- that were countersigned on behalf of
Rosneft by CEO Igor Sechin in his official representative
capacity," the company said in a statement Thursday.
The State Department declined to comment, referring questions to
Exxon.
Write to Lynn Cook at lynn.cook@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 20, 2017 13:29 ET (17:29 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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