The Office of Foreign Assets Control said April 16 that it’s issuing a final rule to remove the Zimbabwe sanctions regulations from the Code of Federal Regulations. OFAC said it’s taking the action because President Joe Biden on March 4 terminated the 2003 national emergency declaration for Zimbabwe (see 2403040039). The final rule will take effect upon publication in the Federal Register April 17.
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Congress should approve tougher sanctions and import restrictions to stem the deadly and illegal flow of fentanyl into the U.S., the House Select Committee on China said in a new report April 16.
Israel's Supreme Court earlier this month overturned a lower court decision that ordered Mizrahi Tefahot Bank to transfer a donation Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich sought to make to Israeli humanitarian group ZAKA Search and Rescue, according to Israeli newspaper Globes. The bank refused to process the transaction, which totaled over $213,000, due to the risk of EU and U.K. sanctions being levied against the bank for circumvention of sanctions on Abramovich.
The U.K. added three entities to its Sudan sanctions list on April 15, the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation announced. The entities are gold exporter Al-Fakher Advanced Works Co., Alkhaleej Bank Co. and Red Rock Mining Co., all of which are accused of funding the Rapid Support Forces, one of the main parties in the Sudan conflict.
The Council of the EU on April 12 passed a law establishing minimum rules for the prosecution of "violation or circumvention of EU sanctions in member states," the council announced. Various actions, including working to skirt a travel ban and trading in sanctioned goods, will be considered criminal offenses in all member states.
Rep. Zach Nunn, R-Iowa, introduced a bill last week that would require the Treasury Department to submit quarterly reports to Congress on the number of businesses that have met FinCEN’s new beneficial ownership information (BOI) reporting rule.
Leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) nations have discussed the possibility of imposing additional sanctions on Iran in response to that country’s drone and missile attack on Israel last week, White House National Security Communications Adviser John Kirby said April 15.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on April 15 issued new sanctions against 12 entities and 10 people for helping Belarus evade U.S. sanctions and support Russia’s “illegal” invasion of Ukraine.
The Bureau of Industry and Security recently met with a group of industry and university officials to hear about challenges plaguing export compliance professionals, including problems doing due diligence on foreign parties, lengthy timelines for export license applications and more.