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Travel firm fined for Cuba embargo violation
A major Dutch travel firm will pay almost $6 million to settle legal action brought by the US government for violating the Cuba-US trade embargo.
US Treasury officials said CWT B.V. which has organized travel for over 40,000 people to Cuba, continued to offer travel services to Cuba even after it became majority owned by registered US companies, and was therefore liable under the US Trading With the Enemy Act.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said the original judgment was for $11 million but was cut to $5.9 million as CWT informed the US government of the violations, stopped them and cooperated in full with Treasury officials.
The company took "significant remedial action" according to the OFAC report.
All US-owned companies must have special licenses to do business in Cuba or with Cuban owned companies.
A Treasury statement said CWT "did not exercise a minimal degree of caution or care regarding its obligations to comply with OFAC sanctions against Cuba."
It said violations took place between August 2006 and November 2012 after it became a US entity.
It is thought to be one of the largest fines ever handed out to a travel company for breaking the US-Cuba embargo.
CWT B.V. was a division of global business travel firm Carlson Wagonlit Travel.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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