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OFAC Sanctions Chinese Entity, Others Involved in Corruption, Human Rights Abuses

The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Sept. 15 sanctioned a Chinese state-owned entity, the former first lady of Gambia and a United Kingdom-based company for corruption and human rights abuses under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act.

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The designations target Union Development Group Co., Ltd., a Cambodia-based real-estate developer owned by the Chinese government, which forced local Cambodians from their land “under the guise of converting Cambodia into a regional logistics hub and tourist destination,” OFAC said. OFAC said the entity falsely registered as a Cambodian-owned entity and reportedly aims to convert Dara Sakor, an investment zone in Cambodia, into a Chinese military base.

OFAC also designated Zineb Souma Yahya Jammeh, whose husband, former Gambia President Yahya Jammeh, has violated human rights and was involved in corruption. Zineb Souma Yahya Jammeh was designated for “aiding and abetting” her husband. OFAC also sanctioned Nabah LTD, a U.K.-based company controlled by Ashraf Seed Ahmed Al-Cardinal, who was sanctioned by OFAC in 2019 for bribery and involvement in a sanctions evasion scheme with a South Sudan government official. OFAC said Al-Cardinal uses his companies to hold “large amounts of funds” for senior officials in South Sudan who are sanctioned by the U.S.