The United Kingdom’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation issued a correction for 137 listings under its Afghanistan sanctions regime, according to an April 30 notice. Of the listings, 136 remain subject to an asset freeze, OFSI said. The agency removed one entry from the list: Ahmadullah.
Two Iranian nationals were charged with violating U.S. export controls and sanctions after they tried to help Iranian entities buy a petroleum tanker, the Justice Department said May 1. Amir Dianat and Kamran Lajmiri allegedly concealed details about the transaction from the seller, financial institutions and the U.S. government, the agency said, and failed to disclose that the tanker was destined for Iran. Both were charged with violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations. The U.S. also filed a civil forfeiture action against Dainat for about $12.3 million, saying the funds were used in a money-laundering scheme to buy the tanker. The scheme involved the National Iranian Oil Company, the National Iranian Tanker Company and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force, all on the Specially Designated Nationals list. The tanker was valued at more than $10 million, Justice said.
Some companies are concerned about the possibility of the Commerce Department issuing major export control actions during the COVID-19 pandemic, which they say will compound economic hardships caused by the mitigation response to the highly contagious disease. In interviews, industry officials said they are unsure about their ability to manage sweeping regulatory changes even as they acknowledge that a moratorium on export control actions is unlikely.
As Thompson Hine lawyers on a webinar discussed exemptions to the Federal Emergency Management Agency restrictions on exports of personal protective equipment, they noted that goods held in bonded warehouses or in foreign-trade zones aren't subject to the controls. As a result, they expect the two to become more widely used over the next year.
The Commerce Department Bureau of Industry and Security is still planning to hold its annual conference in Washington, D.C., this summer, and officially opened registration for the event on April 30. BIS said it is “closely monitoring” COVID-19 updates and will notify industry of any changes to the June 29-July 1 conference. The conference's agenda includes sessions on license exceptions, semiconductors, end-use checks, updates on export controls, export enforcement and more.
Sudan is being severely hampered by unilateral sanctions amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the United Nations said April 28. The country is facing “acute resource constraints” because of its position on the U.S.’s list of state-sponsored terrorism, which is leading to a humanitarian crisis, said Michelle Bachelet, UN commissioner for human rights. “The only way Sudan will ever be able to break out of this cycle of poverty and desperation is to be freed from the impediments of sanctions,” Bachelet said.
American Express violated U.S. sanctions when it processed about $35,000 worth of transactions for a designated person in 2015, the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control said April 30. OFAC issued a “finding of violation” for American Express Travel Related Services Company but did not impose a fine.
The Directorate of Defense Trade Controls scheduled an April 30 update of its Defense Export Control and Compliance System to allow license drafters to select the empowered official to sign and submit a license, the DDTC said April 29. The update will return all licenses in “awaiting signature” status to “draft” status. License drafters should open the license and select empowered official “to return the license to the 'Awaiting Signature' status,” the DDTC said. Due to the update, the agency said it expected DECCS to be unavailable to industry from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. EDT April 30.
Maltese authorities charged five men for violating European Union sanctions on Libya, according to an April 25 notice from the Malta Police Force. The arrests, which resulted from “weeks of investigations,” came after the men allegedly used a Malta-registered company to illegally export two ships to Libya. The men pleaded not guilty.
The United Kingdom amended a sanctions entry for Martin Koumtamadji, according to an April 29 notice from the U.K. Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation. Koumtamadji, the leader of an anti-government militia in the Central African Republic (see 2004220011), is still subject to an asset freeze.