Washington, May 6 (RHC)-- The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the U.S. Department of the Treasury has announced the imposition of a fine of $257,862 on the U.S. animal nutrition company Biomin America Inc. for allegedly violating the blockade maintained against Cuba.

In a statement, the entity said that the company based in Overland Park, Kansas, agreed to pay the aforementioned amount to settle its possible responsibility for apparent violations of the Cuban Assets Control Regulations (CACR).

According to the U.S. entity, from July 2012 to September 2017, Biomin America and its own or controlled foreign entities participated in a total of 30 sales of agricultural products produced outside the United States to the firm Alfarma S.A. in Cuba without the authorization of OFAC, which resulted in 44 alleged violations of the CACR.

According to the statement, the company could potentially have requested authorization to carry out these activities, but instead developed a transaction structure on which it incorrectly determined that it would be consistent with U.S. sanctions requirements.

Biomin America subsequently implemented corrective measures aimed at preventing future unauthorized sales, the Treasury Department agency added.

The news about this new OFAC fine as a result of the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by Washington on Cuba almost 60 years ago is being released as calls increase for the Donald Trump administration to lift the siege on the island in the midst of the new coronavirus pandemic.

When numerous voices inside and outside the United States are calling for an end to the punishments against Cuba and other countries, OFAC says that this case demonstrates the importance of U.S. companies with a global presence maintaining sanctions, particularly when it comes to foreign subsidiaries.

In addition, U.S. companies can benefit from seeking appropriate advice and guidance when contemplating business involving sanctions programs, rather than developing alternative methods through non-U.S. companies, it warned.

Numerous companies have been fined by OFAC for alleged violations of the blockade on Cuba, a policy continually denounced by the government of the Caribbean country as a violation of the human rights of its inhabitants.

The companies affected by the sanctions are often from third countries, which ratifies the condemned extraterritorial character of the blockade.