Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with the top stories for Oct. 13-16 in case you missed them. You can find any article by searching on the title or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
OFAC sanction activity
The Office of Foreign Assets Control updated 490 entries on its Specially Designated Nationals List to reflect April changes made to the North Korea Sanctions Regulations (see 2004090026), OFAC said in an Oct. 19 notice. OFAC updated the entries to show they may be subject to a prohibition on “persons that are owned or controlled by a U.S. financial institution and established or maintained outside” the U.S.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Oct. 19 sanctioned three people and seven entities for counter-terrorism and Iran-related reasons. The first set of designations target Australia-based al-Qaida-associated facilitator Ahmed Luqman Talib and his company, Talib and Sons, for supporting al-Qaida.
The Treasury Department issued updated guidance on Hong Kong-related sanctions and the State Department issued a report to Congress under the Hong Kong Autonomy Act, the agencies said Oct. 14.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control designated a Nicaraguan financial institution and two government officials for undermining Nicaragua’s democracy, OFAC said Oct. 9. The sanctions target Cooperativa De Ahorro Y Credito Caja Rural Nacional RL, a bank that is “not subject to traditional regulatory oversight,” and Nicaraguan Attorney General Ana Julia Guido De Romero and Secretary of the Presidency Paul Herbert Oquist Kelley.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control announced a range of sanctions targeting 17 major Iranian banks for operating in the country’s financial sector and one Iranian bank for being affiliated with the Iranian military. The agency also issued a general license authorizing certain transactions with the banks and announced a 45-day wind-down period for activities involving non U.S. people and companies.
Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with the top stories for Sept. 28-Oct. 2 in case you missed them. You can find any article by searching on the title or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned eight people for their roles in the illegitimate Belarusian presidential election this summer, OFAC said in an Oct. 2 press release. The designations target Belarus’ Minister of the Interior Yuriy Khadzymuratavich Kareau, Deputy Minister of the Interior Alyaksandr Pyatrovich Barsukou and commander and deputy commander of the Minister of the Interior’s Internal Troops Yuriy Henadzievich Nazaranka and Khazalbek Bakhtsibekavich Atabekau, respectively. OFAC also sanctioned Ivan Uladzimiravich Kubrakou and Dzmitriy Uladzimiravich Balaba, who lead organizations that detain peaceful protestors in Minsk, and Vadzim Dzmitrievich Ipatau and Alena Mikalaeuna Dmukhayla, senior election commission officials. The U.S. sanctions follow similar designations by the United Kingdom and Canada (see 2009300011).
The Office of Foreign Assets Control fined a New York travel services company nearly $5.9 million for violating U.S. sanctions against Cuba, OFAC said in an Oct. 1 notice. The company, Generali Global Assistance, Inc. (GGA), used a Canadian affiliate to evade U.S. sanctions, OFAC said.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control issued guidance Oct. 1 on the sanctions risks of facilitating ransomware payments. The guidance urged companies to refrain from facilitating payments “on behalf of victims” of cyberattacks because they encourage future payment demands and may risk sanctions violations.