Exxon Mobil Corporation (XOM)

[eFinanceMarkets]

$XOM Exxon sues Treasury over $2M sanctions penalty

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) says it will sue the U.S. government to stop a $2M penalty over alleged violations of Ukraine-related sanctions, arguing that the Treasury Department based the penalty on a retroactive re-interpretation of the sanctions law that did not align with previously issued guidance.

XOM says it was following "authoritative and specific guidance" from the Obama administration that the sanctions barred Americans from dealing with individuals but not Russian government-owned oil companies

The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Asset Control - which accuses XOM of behaving with “reckless disregard” for violating sanctions while current Sec. of State Rex Tillerson was the company's CEO in May 2014 - says the plain language of the sanctions statute did not distinguish between “personal” and “professional” roles.