Sanctions compliance departments should consider updating their bookkeeping policies and practices to account for an upcoming expansion to U.S. sanctions-related record-keeping rules, which could lead to higher enforcement risks, Freshfields Bruckhaus said in a client alert last week.
The U.K. added 20 frequently asked questions on Aug. 15 pertaining to its Russia sanctions regime, the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation announced. The questions cover a range of topics including securities restrictions, payment systems and financial services. The FAQs also cover the process for reviews and appeals for civil penalties and reporting requirements, which OFSI said requires individuals to report personal financial circumstances changes to OFSI "as soon as practicable." This requirement comes into play when the value of a party's economic resources changes by over 10,000 British pounds.
The European Council on Aug. 14 removed two people from its Yemen sanctions regime. Ali Abdullah Saleh, former president of Yemen who has died, and his son, Ahmed Ali Abdullah Saleh, former commander of Yemen's Republic Guard, were delisted. The U.N. and the U.K. also recently delisted them (see 2408020018).
Switzerland on Aug. 13 added 27 people to its Belarus sanctions regime and amended the listing of one person, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs announced. The sanctions additions include various Belarusian law enforcement officials responsible for cracking down on activists and protesters. The revised listing is for prosecutor Padkavyrava Iryna Vladimirovna, who was formerly sanctioned under the name Padkavyrava Iryna Uladzimirauna.
The Biden administration is pushing to implement the new Iran sanctions authorities that Congress approved four months ago, a National Security Council spokesperson said Aug. 15.
The U.N. Security Council, which oversees various U.N. sanctions regimes, needs permanent representation from African countries, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres told the council in remarks this week. “We cannot accept that the world’s pre-eminent peace and security body lacks a permanent voice for a continent of well over a billion people,” Guterres said. Although Africa is “under-represented in global governance structures,” it’s “over-represented in the very challenges these structures are designed to address. Conflicts, emergencies and geopolitical divisions have an outsized impact on African countries.” He added: “The message is clear. There can be no global security without African security.”
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned people, companies and ships for helping to transport oil and commodities on behalf of the Iranian military and for Sa’id al-Jamal, an Iranian-backed financial facilitator for the Yemen-based Houthis. OFAC said the companies and ships have moved goods to Yemen and the United Arab Emirates, helping finance the Houthis’ “reckless targeting” of commercial shipping in the Red Sea.
President Joe Biden extended a national emergency that authorizes certain export control regulations, the White House said this week. Biden renewed the emergency for one year beyond Aug. 17.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control issued a new general license this week authorizing certain transactions involving Hong Kong-based VPower Finance Security, a company sanctioned by OFAC in June for its role in a scheme to transport Russian gold and convert it into other currencies. General License 102 authorizes transactions that are “ordinarily incident and necessary to the transportation, delivery, or storage of currency; cash processing services; or maintenance" of ATMS within Hong Kong involving VPower. Those transactions are authorized through 12:01 a.m. EST Nov. 12.
The Biden administration is “reviewing closely” the requirements of new laws authorizing sanctions on Iranian oil and “will ensure the rigorous implementation of their provisions” as they take effect, a State Department official recently told a lawmaker.