The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Dec. 9. designated "a diverse array" of over 40 people and entities connected to corruption or human rights abuses in recognition of International Anti-Corruption Day and Human Rights Day. The sanctions target people and entities across nine countries, OFAC said.
OFAC sanction activity
The Office of Foreign Assets Controls designated Chinese fishing companies Dalian Ocean Fishing and Pingtan Marine Enterprise and their respective leaders, Li Zhenyu and Xinrong Zhuo, along with eight other affiliated entities and 157 vessels for serious human rights abuses related to Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing in violation of the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, according to a Dec. 9 news release.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control designated a sanctions evasion network led by businessman Sitki Ayan that has allegedly facilitated hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of oil sales on behalf of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF), the agency said Dec. 8. The action supplements OFAC’s May 25 designations, which targeted a part of the network (see 2205250025).
The Treasury Department will prioritize most enforcement of its price cap on Russian oil against “willful violators,” a senior agency official stressed this week, reminding industry that due diligence and recordkeeping could significantly mitigate any potential penalties. Elizabeth Rosenberg, Treasury’s assistant secretary for terrorist financing and financial crimes, said the agency established its safe harbor protocol (see 2211230047) so it can target service providers intentionally looking to support Russia’s oil industry and protect those conducting good-faith sanctions compliance.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control added two Haitian politicians to its Specially Designated Nationals List in connection with drug trafficking, it said in a Dec. 2 news release. The action comes less than a month after the U.S. and Canada designated two other Haitian politicians (see 2211040064).
The Office of Foreign Assets Control added three people and two companies to its Specially Designated Nationals List for providing financial services and facilitating weapons procurement for Hezbollah, the agency said Dec. 1.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned three people for being members of the Workers’ Party of Korea and helping North Korea develop weapons of mass restriction and ballistic missiles. The designations target Jon Il Ho, Yu Jin and Kim Su Gil, OFAC said. Brian Nelson, Treasury's undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said the sanctions were in response to North Korean missile launches (see Ref:2211070016]).
The maritime industry should see an increase in Russian sanctions evasion tactics as the U.S., the EU and others prepare to set a price cap on Russian oil, said David Tannenbaum, a former sanctions compliance specialist at the Office of Foreign Assets Control. Logistics companies and others should be on the lookout for a rise in deceptive maritime practices, which could call for more compliance work and recordkeeping to avoid running afoul of U.S. sanctions, said Marco Crusafio, an international shipping lawyer with Squire Patton.
The U.S. will allow Chevron to resume certain oil activities in Venezuela, giving the California-based energy company a “limited” license to pump oil in the sanctioned country for the first time in years. The license, which the White House believes will have a minimal impact on Venezuela's oil shipments, was issued in an effort to support the newly restarted negotiations between President Nicolas Maduro’s regime and the country’s opposition party, the Treasury Department said. It also comes amid opposition from U.S. Republicans, who warned the administration that a license would only offer the Maduro regime sanctions relief and undermine prospects for the return of democracy to Venezuela (see 2211020032, 2210280032 and 2210060014).
The Treasury Department fined U.S. crypto exchange Kraken $362,158.70 for violating U.S. sanctions against Iran, the agency said this week. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control said Kraken, also known as Payward, exported services to users who “appeared to be” in Iran and allows them to conduct virtual currency transactions on Kraken’s platform. The violations stemmed from Kraken’s "failure to timely implement appropriate geolocation tools, including an automated [internet protocol] address blocking system," OFAC said.