The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Dec. 8 sanctioned 16 people and 24 entities for corruption and human rights violations, continuing its string of designations this week under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act (see 2112070058 and 2112060014). The designations target a crime network in Kosovo and their affiliated companies or entities across Europe. OFAC also sanctioned people in El Salvador for helping to coordinate a “secret truce” between the country’s government and gang leaders, including MS-13.
OFAC sanction activity
The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned people and entities in Uganda, Iran and Syria for human rights abuses or for undermining democratic institutions. The designations target military or government officials in all three countries as well as two Iranian law enforcement agencies and two Iranian prisons, OFAC said Dec. 7. The U.S. purposefully issued the sanctions just ahead of its democracy summit later this week, which will convene more than 100 of the world’s democracies to discuss collaboration on human rights issues, anti-corruption and more. “Consistent with the goals of this week’s Summit for Democracy, the United States is committed to using its full range of tools to counter serious human rights abuse and repressive acts across the world,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned Alain Mukonda and 12 companies linked to Mukonda for providing support to sanctioned billionaire Dan Gertler, OFAC said Dec. 6. Mukonda and the companies are based in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned an additional 20 people, 12 entities and three aircraft for aiding the Alexander Lukashenko regime in Belarus. The agency also imposed new restrictions on dealings in Belarusian sovereign debt, and issued a new general license and 10 new frequently asked questions to provide guidance on the new sanctions.
Michael Parker, a former official at both the Justice and the Treasury departments, has joined Ferrari & Associates as counsel heading up the firm's money laundering and sanctions practice, the firm announced Dec. 1. Parker was previously a sanctions investigator and later a chief in the Office of Foreign Assets Control’s enforcement division before joining DOJ, where he prosecuted transnational crime and money laundering violations.
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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.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control amended the Syrian Sanctions Regulations to expand an authorization for certain activities of nongovernmental organizations in Syria, OFAC said in final rule released Nov. 24. The rule, effective Nov. 26, expands a general license to allow NGOs to conduct certain “assistance-related investment activities in support of certain not-for-profit activities in Syria.” OFAC also amended the license to specify that it doesn’t apply to foreign people or entities that have been designated as a foreign terrorist organization or “otherwise designated as a terrorist organization by the Secretary of State.”
The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned Ismatullah Khalozai, a financial facilitator for the Islamic State’s Khorasan Province, also known as ISIS-K, the agency said Nov. 22. Khalozai has supported the operations of the ISIS-K by “facilitating international financial transactions that fund human trafficking networks,” OFAC said. Khalozai also helped move foreign fighters to “escalate tensions in Afghanistan and the region.” OFAC also sanctioned three other as leaders of ISIS-K but didn’t immediately provide more information on their designations. The individuals are: Sultan Aziz Azam, Maulawi Rajab and Sanaullah Ghafari.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control Nov. 22 deleted a range of entries on its Specially Designated Nationals List and updated other entries. A Treasury spokesperson said some sanctions were removed because the individuals died, while updates include new date of birth information, aliases and “other data corrections.” The deleted and updated entries have ties to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Pakistan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Iraq, Libya, Syria and others.