Steven I. Pinter is of counsel at The Eren Law Firm. Drawing on his many years of experience, Mr. Pinter advises and counsels The Firm’s financial institution and other clients on all aspects of U.S. economic sanctions, U.S. anti-money laundering laws, U.S. customs laws, U.S. export controls, and the U.S. federal administrative / regulatory process, among other issues. With regards to U.S. economic sanctions, Mr. Pinter advises clients on “big picture” sanctions issues, financial and trade restrictions and requirements impacting banks and other organizations, sanctions compliance, sanctions licensing, jurisdictional and interpretive issues, and sanctions enforcement and penalty matters, with particular emphasis on enforcement actions brought by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) and other U.S. federal agencies.

From 1975 to 1987, Mr. Pinter held supervisory legal positions in the U.S. Customs Service’s Office of Regulations and Rulings in Washington, D.C., where he headed offices responsible for various international trade and tariff issues regarding imports into the United States.

Before joining the powerhouse team at The Eren Law Firm, Mr. Pinter served as the Chief of Licensing (1987-2002) and later as Senior Sanctions Advisor (2002-2004) at OFAC, the agency in charge of administering and enforcing U.S. economic sanctions.

During his lengthy 17-year tenure in senior positions at OFAC, Mr. Pinter heavily shaped economic sanctions programs and formulated, implemented, administered, and terminated sanctions. At OFAC, Mr. Pinter was a key participant in the translation of U.S. foreign policy goals into laws and regulations; the formulation of relevant laws and regulations; and the design, analysis, and implementation of policies permitting across-the-board and case-by-case legal and policy exceptions to sanctions prohibitions and requirements. Mr. Pinter was the prime arbiter of licensing decisions and played a critical role in all significant OFAC deliberations, decisions, and policies.

While at OFAC, Mr. Pinter was also responsible for interpretive rulings and determinations related to various aspects of OFAC-administered sanctions, including, most notably, those concerning issues involving dollar-clearing and international payments, the facilitation prohibition, the informational materials exemption, and OFAC’s jurisdictional reach. Mr. Pinter helped to establish OFAC’s enforcement and penalty guidelines, provided expert guidance on and oversight of the civil penalties program administered by OFAC, and participated in deliberations and decisions concerning the assessment of civil penalties, the issuance of warning letters, settlements, voluntary disclosures, and the public availability of civil penalty information.

Mr. Pinter received a bachelor’s degree from St. Bernard College and his L.L.B. from Georgetown University Law School. He is a member of and was admitted to the District of Columbia Bar in 1970. In addition to English, Mr. Pinter speaks German and Hungarian.