Foreign Aircraft Company Sues OFAC for Blocking Transaction, Denying License

An aircraft holding company is suing the Treasury Department after the agency blocked a transaction involving the company and an alleged Specially Designated Global Terrorist, according to court records filed June 2. In the lawsuit, Seychelles-registered Askan Holdings, owned by Romania-based Transylvania International Airlines SRL, argued that no sanctioned party was involved in the transaction and said the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control failed to identify the blocked party or grant Askan a license. Askan is asking a court to order OFAC to grant the license or to stop blocking the transaction.

Askan said it tried to buy an Airbus A320 from U.S.-based JetPro International in 2015, but the deal was canceled after the sale “went sour.” Askan tried to get a refund for its $900,000 down payment through Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas, but OFAC “instructed” the bank to “refuse” the request because a sanctioned party was involved, the lawsuit said. Askan and Froriep, a Swiss law firm acting as an escrow agent, applied for OFAC licenses to process the refund, but OFAC denied the applications “without providing any facts supporting its conclusion” that an SDGT was involved in the transaction, Askan said.

The holding company said it spent “hundreds of thousands of dollars” hiring experts and attorneys to determine if there was a sanctioned party involved in the transaction, but “found nothing.” Askan said it applied for another OFAC license in October but has not yet heard back. The delay has cost Askan more than $200,000 in attorney fees and other costs, the company said. “The interest on the loan and Askan’s costs continue to mount as OFAC prolongs its decision.” A Treasury spokesperson declined to comment.

Askan said it first signed a letter of intent with JetPro in 2015 to purchase the Airbus, but JetPro “failed to complete the transaction” and began ignoring Askan’s “repeated” emails and phone calls, the lawsuit said. JetPro eventually said it had been instructed by the Commerce Department’s Office of Export Enforcement to cancel the sale. “Askan believes this was a disingenuous move JetPro contrived to rid itself of the responsibilities arising from Askan’s losses,” the lawsuit said.

A JetPro official said the agreement was canceled because of the involvement of Recep Ilgin, a Turkish national selected by a third company to inspect the aircraft before the sale, the lawsuit said. JetPro said Ilgin was previously listed on the Commerce Department’s Entity List. But Askan objected to that reasoning, saying Ilgin was “no longer on the Entity List and was not named on the SDN List maintained by OFAC,” adding that it “was therefore unable to trace any such information.”

Email ITTNews@warren-news.com for a copy of the lawsuit.