Switzerland on Sept. 4 indefinitely extended its humanitarian exemption from its sanctions regime on Syria. The exemption was first implemented by the EU in February 2023 on a temporary basis after an earthquake created a "grave humanitarian crisis" in the nation. Under the exemption, sanctions don't apply to "activities that are necessary for the humanitarian work of international organizations and some categories of humanitarian actors," the Swiss Federal Council said. The EU in May renewed the exemption for one year (see 2405280013).

The Office of Foreign Assets Control published a new alert this week detailing Russian attempts to evade sanctions by opening new overseas branches and subsidiaries.

The U.S. government should make greater use of economic sanctions against the Houthis to weaken the Yemen-based group’s ability to attack international shipping in the Red Sea, a Yemeni think-tank leader recommended Sept. 4.

The U.S. this week sanctioned 10 people and two entities involved in Russian government “influence operations,” including state-funded news outlets and their employees.

The U.K. added three people and one entity to its Iran sanctions regime Sept. 2, the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation announced. The individuals are Abdolfatah Ahvazian, Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps Commander Hamid Fazeli, and Behnam Shahriyari. IRGC Quds Force Unit 700 was listed for activity meant to "cause the destabilisation of the United Kingdom or any other country," OFSI said.

The U.K. updated the general license under its Russian sanctions regime that authorizes certain imports of Russian diamonds processed in third countries. The license previously only allowed the import of diamonds equal to or larger than one carat that haven't been located in Russia at any time since March 1. The U.K. updated the license to permit the import of diamonds that haven't been located in Russia since Sept. 1 and are smaller than one carat but larger than or equal to one-half carat.

A financial software company recently disclosed to the Office of Foreign Assets Control that it may have violated U.S. sanctions by allowing its services to be used by customers in restricted countries.

With Russia having recently restarted production of liquefied natural gas at its Western-sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 project, compliance officers should prepare for the increased but “manageable” risks that Russian LNG poses, according to a new report released by Blackstone Compliance Services.

The U.S. this week sanctioned Hashomer Yosh and Yitzhak Levi Filant, a non governmental organization and a person, respectively, for contributing to violence against Palestinians in the West Bank. Hashomer Yosh has provided “material support” to other U.S.-sanctioned Israeli groups and people in the region, and Filant is the civilian security coordinator of the Yitzhar settlement in the West Bank, where he helped lead armed Israeli settlers to attack Palestinians in their lands, the State Department said.

The U.S. and South Korea this week hosted a symposium for government officials, finance industry representatives, investment firms and others about how to shield the virtual asset industry from being exploited by North Korea, the State Department said. The symposium, held in New York on Aug. 27, convened participants from more than 40 countries to discuss “updates on current trends” in North Korean virtual asset thefts and laundering, information on North Korean cyber threats, and “guidance on how industry and government can better work together.”