The U.K. on Nov. 3 amended one entry under its Iran sanctions regime. The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation updated the listing for Ali Aliakbar Ansari to add the name "Ali." Ansari was sanctioned for providing economic resources to the Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control issued a new general license this week that authorizes certain transactions with three aircraft that had been blocked under the Belarus Sanctions Regulations. The license, which has no expiration date, authorizes transactions with:

The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned a network of people and entities for their ties to North Korean money laundering, sanctions evasion and information technology worker fraud. The agency said the network has helped North Korea generate revenue for its weapons programs.

John Hurley, the Treasury Department's undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, traveled last week to Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey and Lebanon to speak with those nations about implementing and enforcing the U.N.'s snapback sanctions against Iran (see 2509290051), Treasury said. The agency said Hurley planned to discuss the U.S. maximum-pressure campaign against Iran, as well as how the countries can prevent sanctions evasion and work together better on those measures.

U.N. member states last week voted 165-7, with 12 abstentions, to approve a resolution aimed at urging the U.S. to end its trade embargo against Cuba. The resolution, which has been adopted for 33 consecutive years, called on the U.S. to end the "economic, commercial and financial embargo" on the island country. The U.S., Israel, Argentina, Hungary, Paraguay, North Macedonia and Ukraine voted against the measure, while Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Costa Rica, Czechia, Ecuador, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Morocco, Poland, Moldova and Romania abstained.

The EU last week updated its guidance regarding the list of partner countries for which importers of petroleum products don’t need to provide customs evidence for the origin of the crude oil to prove it’s not from Russia. The FAQs on pages 2 and 3, updated Oct. 29, include the list of countries that “benefit” from this presumption for crude oil exports during calendar year 2024.

The U.K. on Oct. 30 amended an Iran-related sanctions entry for Aliakbar Ansari, who was listed for "providing economic resources" to the Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Lukoil, the major Russian energy company sanctioned by the U.S. last week (see 2510220050), has accepted an offer for its international business, Lukoil International GmbH, to be bought by Gunvor Group, a multinational energy commodities trading company, Lukoil announced Oct. 30. It said the agreement depends on Gunvor obtaining "permission" from the Office of Foreign Assets Control, "as well as any other applicable licenses, permits and other authorizations in other applicable jurisdictions."

The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned the Mexico-based Bhardwaj Human Smuggling Organization, a transnational criminal organization, and its leader, Vikrant Bhardwaj. The agency also sanctioned senior members and affiliates of the group, along with companies that have "facilitated and profited" from its criminal activities.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control removed sanctions Oct. 29 from a range of people and entities connected to the Western Balkans, including former Serb Republic President Milorad Dodik and other former or current government officials and entities that had been sanctioned for undermining democracy in the region. The move deleted dozens of entries from OFAC's Specially Designated Nationals List, including people and companies that OFAC previously said had provided major sources of revenue for Dodik and his family, helped Dodik and his circle evade sanctions, threatened the implementation of the Dayton Peace Agreement that ended the Bosnian war, and more.