Former OFAC Official and DOJ Prosecutor Joins Ferrari & Associates to Head New Money Laundering and Sanctions Division

Press Release

WASHINGTON, D.C. (December 1, 2021) – Ferrari & Associates, a leading U.S. sanctions law firm, is excited to announce that Michael Parker has joined the Firm as Counsel, Head of Money Laundering and Sanctions Practice. Mr. Parker has spent the past six years as a prosecutor in the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section (“MLARS”) where he was responsible for some of the most complex money laundering investigations and prosecutions of transnational criminal organizations and foreign threat actors in the Section. He served as the MLARS subject matter expert in economic sanctions and earned the 2017 FBI Director’s Award for Outstanding Counterintelligence Investigation for his role in a North Korea-related sanctions evasion and money laundering investigation. Additionally, Mr. Parker served as the lead MLARS attorney for the “Panama Papers” case and high-profile international money laundering and forfeiture cases involving ransomware and cryptocurrency. Prior to his time at DOJ, Mr. Parker spent nearly eight years at the United States Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) where he served as a Sanctions Investigator, and later a Section Chief in OFAC’s Enforcement Division.

During his tenure at OFAC, Mr. Parker was responsible for sanctions investigations of transnational criminal organizations, cartel-related targets under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act, and high-profile Middle Eastern sanctions targets under various legal authorities. He also had supervisory authority over one of three OFAC Enforcement divisions and was the supervisory enforcement officer for violations of U.S. sanctions programs.

“Mike’s addition to the Firm gives us a great and unique opportunity to expand our core practice to areas—particularly those where litigation arises—that are sanctions adjacent, including in the realm of certain types of federal criminal prosecutions, civil forfeiture matters, and money laundering investigations and prosecutions,” said Erich Ferrari, Ferrari & Associates’ Founder and Principal. “This is a natural evolution for us and in line with our long-term strategic vision. I’m confident that with Mike’s leadership in developing a money laundering and sanctions practice that we will continue to be a leader in the sanctions space and continue to deliver a high-level of value to our clients.”

“Ferrari & Associates is the premier law firm in economic sanctions,” explained Mr. Parker.  “I’m honored to join this group of renowned professionals – many of whom I’ve worked with during my time at DOJ and OFAC – to expand the scope of services we can provide to our clients.”  The Firm will leverage Mr. Parker’s extensive knowledge of the laws at the intersection of money laundering and sanctions, and his years of experience at DOJ investigating and prosecuting those types of cases. His level of substantive and procedural knowledge is unparalleled and will greatly augment the Firm’s capabilities with respect to those sanctions prosecutions, investigations, and forfeiture matters for which the Firm is engaged.

Mr. Parker’s addition continues the tradition of top-level U.S. sanctions experts joining the Firm, with nearly half of Ferrari & Associates’ staff being former OFAC officials. The Firm continues to be a leader in the field of U.S. economic sanctions, and Mr. Parker furthers that position as it expands it into the areas of money laundering and sanctions-related litigation and federal investigations.