Advises clients on OFAC licensing and U.S. sanctions compliance, drawing on more than 20 years of experience within OFAC’s Licensing Division.
Aydin M. Akgün is Director of Licensing and Compliance at Ferrari & Associates. He advises companies, financial institutions, exporters, and individuals on OFAC licensing, sanctions compliance, and regulatory engagement.
Mr. Akgün helps clients assess sanctions exposure, interpret OFAC regulations, evaluate the scope of general licenses, and develop strategies for specific license applications and related submissions. His work spans more than 30 sanctions programs, including those involving Iran, Russia, Belarus, Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Global Magnitsky authorities.
Before joining Ferrari & Associates, Mr. Akgün spent more than two decades at the Office of Foreign Assets Control, where he served as a Licensing Officer and later as Chief of the Licensing Division. His experience provides clients with practical insight into how OFAC evaluates license applications, interprets regulatory authorities, and weighs the facts, controls, and risks presented in a submission.
Mr. Akgün regularly advises on matters involving complex transaction structures, multiple sanctions programs, and interagency considerations. He works with clients to develop clear, supportable licensing positions and compliance strategies aligned with OFAC expectations. He speaks English, Turkish, and French.
Focus Areas
OFAC licensing strategy and applications
U.S. sanctions compliance counseling
General and specific license analysis
Multi-program sanctions exposure
OFAC submissions and regulatory correspondence
Interagency and regulatory engagement
Compliance program review and remediation
Experience
Mr. Akgün advises clients across the full range of U.S. economic sanctions matters, with a particular focus on licensing and compliance. He assesses sanctions risk, develops and refines compliance programs, and prepares and supports specific license applications and other submissions before OFAC.
Before joining Ferrari & Associates, Mr. Akgün served at OFAC for more than 20 years. As a Licensing Officer and later Chief of the Licensing Division, he worked across more than 30 sanctions programs, adjudicated license applications, interpreted OFAC regulations, and prepared decision memoranda and briefing materials for senior leadership, including the OFAC Director.
He also coordinated with interagency partners on sanctions-related licensing matters, represented OFAC in interagency meetings, and contributed to responses to inquiries from Congress, federal agencies, and the public.
Education
M.F.A., Johns Hopkins University
B.A., University of Nevada, Reno
Speaking, Publications and Media
- Quoted in Semafor regarding Russian oil sanctions and Iran, April 2026
- Quoted in Semafor regarding Venezuelan oil sanctions, January 2026
- Co-author, “So, a Company You Work With Was Sanctioned. What’s Next?,” Export Compliance Manager, January 2026
- Panelist, “Navigating Sanctions in a Second Trump Administration,” American University Washington College of Law, April 2025
- Guest, Sanctions Association Podcast, January 2025
- Speaker, American Conference Institute Conference, December 2024
- Speaker, Association of Certified Sanctions Specialists Conference, October 2024
Aydin M. Akgün is Director of Licensing and Compliance at Ferrari & Associates. He advises companies, financial institutions, exporters, and individuals on OFAC licensing, sanctions compliance, and regulatory engagement.
Mr. Akgün helps clients assess sanctions exposure, interpret OFAC regulations, evaluate the scope of general licenses, and develop strategies for specific license applications and related submissions. His work spans more than 30 sanctions programs, including those involving Iran, Russia, Belarus, Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Global Magnitsky authorities.
Before joining Ferrari & Associates, Mr. Akgün spent more than two decades at the Office of Foreign Assets Control, where he served as a Licensing Officer and later as Chief of the Licensing Division. His experience provides clients with practical insight into how OFAC evaluates license applications, interprets regulatory authorities, and weighs the facts, controls, and risks presented in a submission.
Mr. Akgün regularly advises on matters involving complex transaction structures, multiple sanctions programs, and interagency considerations. He works with clients to develop clear, supportable licensing positions and compliance strategies aligned with OFAC expectations. He speaks English, Turkish, and French.