The Office of Foreign Assets Control accepted a settlement from a French bank of than $8.5 million for apparent violations U.S. sanctions against Syria, OFAC said in a Jan. 4 notice. Union de Banques Arabes et Françaises (UBAF) operated U.S. dollar accounts for Syrian financial institutions and “indirectly conducted USD business” for those accounts on behalf of the institutions through the U.S. financial system, OFAC said. UBAF agreed to remit $8,572,500 to settle its potential civil liability for 127 “apparent violations.”
OFAC sanction activity
The Office of Foreign Assets Control Dec. 31 released its annual terrorist assets report for 2019. The report includes an overview of OFAC terrorism sanctions, their impact, enforcement measures and a summary of blocked assets.
Four companies said they may have violated U.S. sanctions and export controls after providing products to blocked parties or not complying with licensing requirements, according to their Securities and Exchange Commission filings. The potential violations involve illegal exports of software, providing services to people in embargoed countries, and sanctioned airline activities.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control fined a California technology company nearly $100,000 for sanctions violations, a Dec. 30 Treasury Department notice said. It said BitGo committed 183 violations of U.S. sanctions programs when it allowed people in Cuba, Iran, Sudan, Syria and Ukraine's Crimea region to use its “non-custodial secure digital wallet management service.” The company “had reason to know” the people sanctioned countries were using BitGo’s services, OFAC said, but “failed to implement controls” to prevent the violations.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned a Venezuelan judge and prosecutor for presiding over the prosecution of the “Citgo 6,” the six U.S. citizens who were “unjustly imprisoned” in Venezuela in 2017, OFAC said Dec. 30. The designations target Judge Lorena Carolina Cornielles Ruiz and prosecutor Ramon Antonio Torres Espinoza. OFAC said the trials of the six Citgo executives were based on “politically motivated charges and marred by a lack of fair trial guarantees.”
The Office of Foreign Assets Control fined a Saudi bank more than $650,000 for violating U.S. sanctions against Sudan and Syria, a Dec. 28 notice said. OFAC said Saudi Arabia-based National Commercial Bank (NCB) illegally processed 13 transactions worth nearly $6 million.
Denmark-based Danske Bank is no longer being investigated by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control for potential sanctions violations, it said in a Dec. 19 news release. Authorities in Denmark, the U.S., Estonia and France were investigating the bank in connection with a money-laundering scandal, Reuters reported Dec. 15. The bank said OFAC “decided to close its investigation” in relation to “the Estonia case” but may take “future enforcement action should new or additional information warrant renewed attention.” A Treasury spokesperson declined to comment.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned one person and four entities for involvement in the “fraudulent” presidential elections in Belarus earlier this year and the “violent crackdown” on peaceful pro-democracy protests, OFAC said Dec. 23. The sanctions target Henadz Arkadzievich Kazakevich, a senior government official and chief of the country’s Criminal Police. OFAC also designated the Minsk Special Purpose Police Unit, the Main Internal Affairs Directorate of the Minsk City Executive Committee and KGB Alpha for suppressing peaceful protests. The agency also sanctioned the Central Commission of the Republic of Belarus on Elections and Holding Republican Referenda for undermining the country’s elections.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Dec. 23 extended a general license related to Petroleos de Venezuela and updated a frequently asked question. General License No. 5F, which replaced No. 5E (see 2010060036), authorizes certain transactions with PdVSA involving an 8.5% bond on or after July 21, 2021. OFAC also updated a Venezuela sanctions FAQ to reflect the change.
The U.S. sanctioned eight people and 10 entities for being members of or supporting the Syrian government, the Treasury Department said Dec. 22. The sanctions designate two people and 10 entities by Treasury and six people by the State Department. Treasury also issued three new frequently asked questions related to Syria.