FRA strengthens sanctions capabilities with new hire of former US government official, Charlie Steele

Forensic Risk Alliance (FRA)is pleased to announce that Charlie Steele, a former senior U.S. Treasury Department and Department of Justice official, has joined FRA as a Partner based in Washington, DC, expanding its existing team of former regulators, SEC accountants and Big Four partners.

Charlie will focus primarily on furthering the firm's sanctions capabilities, and supporting corporate clients, and the law firms that represent them, as they navigate the global economic sanctions landscape. He will also work on BSA/AML matters, and will contribute to FRA's full range of white collar capabilities.

Charlie has more than 30 years of government and private-sector experience in civil and criminal compliance, investigations, enforcement, and litigation matters, in a variety of industries and sectors. For the past several years, he has specialized primarily in Economic Sanctions and BSA/AML matters. Charlie's most recent government service was as Chief Counsel for the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). In that role, he led the team of lawyers providing legal advice and support to OFAC and other Treasury Department personnel in the formulation, implementation, and enforcement of economic sanctions, in furtherance of U.S. national security and foreign policy goals.

Prior to this, Charlie served in other senior positions in the Treasury Department: Associate Director for Enforcement in OFAC, Deputy Director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN, the U.S. Government's principal BSA/AML agency and the U.S. Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU)), and Deputy Chief Counsel in the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (the primary U.S. supervisor and regulator of national banks, federal savings associations, and federally licensed branches of foreign banks in the United States).

Before joining the Treasury Department, Charlie served in the U.S. Department of Justice for 21 years, holding titles such as Chief of Staff to the FBI Director and Chief of Staff in the Department's National Security Division. During his time at DOJ he worked on a broad range of complex white-collar crime and national security investigations and prosecutions. As an Assistant United States Attorney (federal prosecutor) he conducted 27 jury trials, dozens of contested and evidentiary hearings, and several appeals in the Courts of Appeals for the Ninth and District of Columbia Circuits.

Frances McLeod, co-founding Partner and Head of FRA's U.S. offices, said: "We are delighted to welcome Charlie to FRA. His extensive leadership experience and specialized knowledge from having served in the U.S. Treasury and Justice Departments will give our clients valuable strategic insight when navigating sanctions proceedings and other white collar enforcement matters."

"I'm thrilled to join the FRA team and to work alongside such a talented roster of forensic accountants and investigators," said Charlie. "The firm has an outstanding reputation from its work on many of the most high-profile recent investigations internationally, and I'm particularly excited to help expand the firm's presence in the sanctions space."