Airbnb Lists Rental Homes on Land Owned by Sanctioned Chinese Entity, Report Says
Airbnb has available more than a dozen homes for rent in China’s Xinjiang province on land owned by a Chinese entity that is subject to U.S. sanctions, Axios reported Nov. 30. The entity, Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, was sanctioned by the Treasury Department in 2020 for human rights abuses, including for helping to create a surveillance and detention program for Muslim minority groups (see 2007310028). Information connecting “numerous Airbnb listings” with XPCC-owned land is publicly available, including on Airbnb’s website, the report said.
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An Airbnb spokesperson said the company closely follows U.S. sanctions laws. "We take our obligation to comply with U.S. Treasury rules incredibly seriously," the spokesperson said Nov. 30. Office of Foreign Assets Control "rules require Airbnb to screen the parties we are transacting with, not the underlying landowners. We screen all hosts and guests against global government watchlists, including OFAC’s Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons list." The company said it has earned about $6,500 over the last 12 months from the rentals mentioned in the Axios report. Treasury declined to comment.