Williams & Connolly offices/Photo: Diego M. Radzinschi/NLJ.

Facing potential sanctions stemming from a United Nations report, the Kanbawza Bank of Myanmar has hired Williams & Connolly and partner David Aufhauser, a former general counsel for the Treasury Department and United Bank of Switzerland AG.

The U.N.'s Human Rights Council issued a report on Aug. 5 that named KBZ Bank's parent company, KBZ Group, as one of two firms that allegedly helped finance the construction of a fence along the Myanmar-Bangladesh border. 

The report from the U.N. fact-finding mission asserts that KBZ and the other company, Max Myanmar, knew the fence "would contribute to the suffering and anguish associated with preventing the displaced Rohingya population from returning to their homes and land."

The report urged the U.N. Security Council and its member states to "immediately impose targeted sanctions against companies run by the military, known as the Tatmadaw." 

KBZ Bank hired Williams & Connolly days after the U.N. released its report, according to a legal services agreement that Aufhauser sent on Aug. 13 to the bank's CEO, Michael DeNoma. The letter states that Williams & Connolly would advise KBZ "in connection with potential US legal issues and sanctions matters which may arise out of" the U.N. report. 

As part of the agreement, KBZ paid a $25,000 retainer. The bank also agreed to pay Aufhauser and David Zinn, co-chairman of Williams & Connolly's criminal defense and investigations practice, an hourly rate of $965. Aufhauser and Zinn are both based in Washington, D.C.

Aufhauser filed paperwork on Aug. 23 notifying the Justice Department about the arrangement and outlining the scope of his firm's representation of KBZ.  

"Additional services will potentially include providing advice regarding legal consequences of the report, providing advice on lobbying and public relations issues related to the representation, lobbying U.S. government officials in the Executive Branch, Congress, and/or the United Nations, and discussing the matter with U.S. or international media organizations," Aufhauser wrote. 

He did not respond to interview requests. Attempts to speak with a KBZ representative also were unsuccessful. 

Aufhauser served as the Treasury Department's general counsel from 2001 to 2003. During that time, he oversaw the rollout of the agency's economic sanctions program and the Patriot Act. In 2004, he joined UBS as its top lawyer, a position he held until 2008.