TRADING WITH THE ENEMY: CHEVRONTEXACO TRADING WITH IRAQ, NEW YORK YANKEES, WAL-MART, ESPN, CATERPILLAR WITH CUBA, EXXONMOBIL, WELLS FARGO WITH SUDAN. OFAC ENFORCEMENT PROGRAM REMAINS SHROUDED IN SECRECY

ChevronTexaco trading with Iraq.

The New York Yankees, Wal-Mart, ESPN, and Caterpillar trading with Cuba.

ExxonMobil and Wells Fargo trading with the Sudan.

These companies are among 59 companies that have settled charges of trading with the enemy brought by the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). The settlements were released over the past two weeks.

The settlements were publicized today by Corporate Crime Reporter, a weekly newsletter based in Washington, D.C.

While the settlements were posted on OFAC's web site, they were buried there, and the lists went unreported.

"From the beginning, OFAC's enforcement has been shrouded in secrecy," said Russell Mokhiber, the editor of Corporate Crime Reporter. "First, OFAC refused to release any of the settlements. Then, after being sued, they released heavily redacted enforcement memos. Now, they are releasing only charts, with one line per settlement."

Mokhiber called on the Treasury Department to put out a press release announcing each settlement at the time of the settlement.

"Stop the secrecy," Mokhiber said. "Let the sun shine in. To deter future corporate wrongdoing, OFAC must stop protecting major American companies from the glare of adverse publicity. "

Michael Tankersley, an attorney with Public Citizen's Litigation Group, called on OFAC to release more information about its settlements.

"In response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit brought by Public Citizen on behalf of Corporate Crime Reporter, OFAC released some records concerning settlements prior to April 2002, and adopted regulations providing for disclosure of selective information about penalties and settlements beginning on April 4, 2003," Tankersley said. "Significantly, OFAC has resisted providing a meaningful description of the conduct that underlies these sanctions, the settlements proposed by the alleged offenders, and the reasoning behind OFAC's decision to impose a particular penalty, or settle for a given amount."

Tankersley pointed out that OFAC's April 4, 2003, release contains undated entries for settlements with Carrier Access Corp. and IGI, Inc., in which the conduct of both companies is identified only as "E" (Export associated with the Iranian transactions regulations (31 C.F.R. Part 560).

"There is nothing in OFAC's disclosures to explain why the settlement with Carrier Access was $13,000 and the settlement with IGI was $225,000," Tankersley said.