Exxon fined for violating sanctions under Tillerson

WASHINGTON — The US Treasury Department on Thursday fined Exxon Mobil $2 million for violating sanctions that the US imposed on Russia in 2014 while Rex Tillerson, now the secretary of state, was the oil company’s chief executive.

The penalty was relatively small for the Treasury and a blip on Exxon’s mammoth balance sheet, but it came as controversy over Russia policy has engulfed Washington.

US President Donald Trump’s government is facing questions about Russia’s intervention in the 2016 election, and Congress has considered stiffening sanctions out of concern that Trump will try to ease those already in place.

The move also underscores concerns over Tillerson’s deep business connections in Russia.

“Exxon Mobil demonstrated reckless disregard for US sanctions requirements,” the Treasury said in a report announcing the penalty.

Hal Eren, a former official in Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, said the fine showed that the department’s staff members would not be cowed.

“It gives the message that they’re going to do what they have to even though Tillerson is secretary of state,” he said.

The violations involved the signing of legal documents related to oil and gas projects in Russia with Igor Sechin, the head of Rosneft, the Russian state oil company, and another person.