The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Sept. 29 upheld the Office of Foreign Assets Control's addition of Iranian company Bahman Group to the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN) list. Judge Randolph Moss held that OFAC's denial of Bahman's delisting petition wasn't impermissibly predetermined, finding that even if OFAC's decision could be set aside under the Administrative Procedure Act for being pre-decided, "the record offers no basis for concluding that OFAC’s decision-making in this case was pretextual or irredeemably biased under any standard" (Bahman Group v. Lisa Palluconi, D.D.C. # 22-3826).
The U.K.'s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation is asking industry to complete its "sanctions perceptions" survey, which will "help inform how sanctions policy and services evolve to better serve UK businesses," the agency said in an Oct. 6 email to industry. "Your input is invaluable and will contribute to identifying knowledge gaps, exploring ways to improve industry compliance, minimising barriers to legitimate business and provide feedback on work undertaken/sanctions improvements over the past 18 months." The survey deadline is Oct. 10.
Reps. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., and Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., introduced a bill Sept. 30 that would impose sanctions on Azerbaijan if the country violates its new peace agreement with Armenia.
Turkey recently reimposed certain sanctions against Iran following the U.N.'s move last month to reimpose Iranian restrictions that were paused after the 2015 nuclear deal (see 2510010018 and 2508280033). Turkey's designations apply to nearly 40 people and entities, according to an unofficial translation.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Oct. 6 removed Horacio Manuel Cartes, former president of Paraguay, from its Specially Designated Nationals List. OFAC also removed five entities that had been sanctioned for supporting Cartes or for ties to the former president, including Tabacalera del Este, Tabesa, Frigorifico Chajha, Dominicana Acquisition, Bebidas and Tabacos. The agency didn't release more information.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned eight Mexicans and 12 Mexico-based companies that it said have ties to the Sinaloa Cartel’s Los Chapitos faction, a group designated in June for helping to traffic fentanyl to the U.S. (see 2506090023).
Export controls are likely to continue to be on the negotiating table during upcoming U.S.-China trade talks, panelists said this week.
Brian Nelson, one of the Treasury Department's top sanctions officials during the administration of Joe Biden, has joined Cooley to lead its national security practice, the law firm announced last week. Nelson previously served as Treasury's undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, where he oversaw the Office of Foreign Assets Control and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. Nelson will work on issues related to sanctions, export controls, national security investigations and more, the firm said.
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jim Risch, R-Idaho, proposed a bill that would require the executive branch to form an interagency task force to identify Chinese entities that could be sanctioned for supporting an attempt by China to take over Taiwan.
The U.K. on Oct. 3 revised the addresses for Embers of an Empire and Rampage Productions under its domestic counterterrorism sanctions and removed an alias for Europaisch-Iranische Handelsbank under its Iran (nuclear) sanctions regime.