HAVANA TIMES – The reauthorization of “U-Turn” transactions involving Cuban funds and independent entrepreneurs is one of the measures announced by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on May 28, 2024. This measure, which had been implemented at some point during the Obama era, was revoked in 2019 after Donald Trump assumed the presidency of the United States.
But, what are “U-Turn” transactions?
“U-Turn” transactions are fund transfers related to Cuba or any other sanctioned country conducted between two non-US banks (banks not subject to US jurisdiction) where neither the originator nor the beneficiary of the transaction are persons subject to US jurisdiction. These transactions often aim to obscure the origin and final destination of the funds —almost always coinciding with a sanctioned country— by using several banks.
For example, a Cuban or a Cuban company with an account in a French bank wants to send money to an account in a Mexican bank, with the ultimate goal of transferring the money to Cuba.
How can the US government prevent a “U-Turn” transaction if the involved banks are not under its jurisd
