The Treasury Department is dedicating “significant” resources to sanctioning international fentanyl traffickers and is committed to maintaining strong sanctions against the Venezuela government for human rights violations, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told a House Appropriations subcommittee June 10.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control designated people and entities involved in a smuggling network that funds Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force and the Houthis in Yemen, OFAC said June 10. The agency sanctioned seven people, four entities and one vessel, including Iran-based Houthi financier Sa’id al-Jamal. The network helps generate tens of millions of dollars from the sale of petroleum and other commodities, OFAC said.
The Congressional Research Service on June 7 published a report on U.S. sanctions against Russia, detailing recent designations and moves by the Biden administration to expand sanctions authorities. The report describes current U.S. sanctions targeting Russia for cyber activities, corruption, use of chemical weapons, “coercive use” of energy exports and human rights violations.
The U.S. extended the national emergency authorizing sanctions against Belarus for one year beyond June 16, 2021, the White House said June 8. It said Belarusian government actions “continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat” to U.S. national security and foreign policy.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned four people for supporting Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega’s regime as it undermines democracy and violates human rights, the agency said June 9. The sanctions target Camila Antonia Ortega Murillo, the coordinator of the Creative Economy Commission and daughter of Ortega; Leonardo Ovidio Reyes Ramirez, president of the Central Bank of Nicaragua; National Assembly Deputy Edwin Ramon Castro Rivera; and Julio Modesto Rodriguez Balladares, a brigadier general in the Nicaraguan Army and executive director of the Military Social Welfare Institute. OFAC Director Andrea Gacki said the agency will “continue to expose those officials who continue to ignore the will of its citizens.”
President Joe Biden issued a June 8 executive order expanding sanctions authorities against people involved in human rights abuses or threatening the security of the Western Balkans. The order “expands the designation criteria” to authorize sanctions against corruption in the region and “other actions that obstruct key institutions and international agreements,” a fact sheet said. The Treasury Department will issue the sanctions in consultation with the State Department, the order said, and will allow the U.S. to target a broader range of actors that threaten the “peace, security, stability, or territorial integrity” of the Western Balkans. In a letter to Congress, the White House said the order specifically “broadens the geographic scope of the existing sanctions regime” to cover Albania.
The Treasury Department held another discussion with industry on the impact of U.S. sanctions as the agency conducts a review of its sanctions regimes (see 2105280004). The meeting, held last week between Treasury Deputy Secretary Wally Adeyemo and small-business representatives, included a discussion on how Treasury’s sanctions “play a role as small businesses seek to grow and expand,” the agency said June 2. “[T]hrough the sanctions review [Adeyemo] seeks to identify ways to strengthen the sanctions tool to best advance our national security, foreign policy, and economic objectives,” Treasury said. The National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America said June 7 that it participated in the discussion.
The U.S. sanctioned six Bulgarians and 64 entities for their “extensive roles in corruption" in Bulgaria, the Treasury and State departments said June 2. OFAC said the designations represented the “single largest action targeting corruption to date” and demonstrated the agency’s commitment to sanctioning corrupt business networks. The measures target former and current Bulgarian government officials -- Vassil Kroumov Bojkov, Delyan Slavchev Peevski and Ilko Dimitrov Zhelyazkov -- along with 64 of their entities. The State Department also announced that it designated Alexander Manolev, Petar Haralampiev and Krasimir Tomov, as well as Peevski and Zhelyazkov, for corruption.
The U.S. hasn’t ruled out imposing sanctions against Russia for its potential involvement in the ransomware attack on the Colonial Pipeline last month, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters June 2. While President Joe Biden has said he doesn’t believe the Russian government was involved in the attack, he said the people behind the attack are likely living in Russia. “We’re not taking options off of the table,” Psaki said when asked whether the U.S. was considering more sanctions. Psaki said Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin may discuss the matter when they meet later this month. She also said the U.S. is “doing our own review of a range of options.”
The Office of Foreign Assets Control renewed a general license authorizing transactions between certain companies and Petroleos de Venezuela SA, OFAC said June 1. General License No. 8H, which replaces No. 8G (see 2011170015), authorizes transactions between PdVSA and Chevron, Halliburton, Schlumberger, Baker Hughes and Weatherford International, with certain restrictions, through 12:01 a.m. EST Dec. 1. The license was scheduled to expire June 3.