Russia will impose retaliatory sanctions against Germany and France for European Union designations of six Russian officials and one Russian entity in October, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said Nov. 12. The ministry said it will target senior officials in Germany's and France's “executive offices” who helped lead the EU’s effort to sanction Russia for the poisoning of Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny (see 2010080013 and 2010150008).
The Office of Foreign Assets Control renewed a general license authorizing transactions between certain companies and Petroleos de Venezuela, OFAC said Nov. 17. General License No. 8G, which replaces No. 8F (see 2004220009), authorizes transactions between PdVSA and Chevron, Halliburton, Schlumberger, Baker Hughes and Weatherford International, with certain restrictions, through 12:01 a.m. EDT June 3, 2021. The license was scheduled to expire Dec. 1.
The U.S. sanctioned two senior leaders of al-Shabaab, a Somalia terrorist group and al-Qaida affiliate, the State Department said Nov. 17. The designations target Abdullahi Osman Mohamed, the group’s senior explosives expert, and Maalim Ayman, the leader of an al-Shabaab unit that conducts terrorist attacks in Kenya and Somalia.
Airbnb may have violated U.S. sanctions laws and submitted a voluntary self-disclosure to the Office of Foreign Assets Control in September, the company said in a Nov. 16 Securities and Exchange Commission filing. Airbnb said it began an internal review in 2019 and has been cooperating with OFAC “regarding certain user activity on our platform” that was “inconsistent with our policies” and U.S. sanctions laws. The company said those activities involved Ukraine's Crimea region, Cuba and certain OFAC specially designated nationals.
The United Nations Security Council extended the mandate for the Panel of Experts on Somalia until Dec. 15, 2021, and renewed the “partial lifting” of the arms embargo on the country's security forces, the UNSC said Nov. 12. The arms embargo exempts deliveries of arms, technical advice, financial assistance or training intended for Somali security forces, and prohibits the resale or making available to outside entities of weapons and military equipment “supplied to the Somali National Security Forces or Somali security sector institutions.” The UNSC also condemned exports of charcoal from Somalia, which are banned, as “illicit flows that may finance terrorist activities.” It also cautioned against transactions that might involve “direct or indirect sale or transfer of items that could be used in manufacturing ... [improvised explosive] devices” used in the escalating number of attacks undertaken by Al‑Shabaab, the East African terrorist fundamentalist group.
The United Kingdom’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation issued a financial sanctions guidance for charities on Nov. 13. The agency stressed that charitable organizations are responsible for complying with sanctions, applying for licenses and reporting “suspected breaches of financial sanctions to OFSI at the earliest opportunity.”
The European Union removed Neda Industrial Group from its Iranian sanctions regime, it said Nov. 13. The company had supplied electricity to Iran, but the European General Court found the company’s “provision of services” to an Iranian uranium enrichment plant “was not sufficient to support its designation,” a Nov. 13 EU Sanctions blog post said.
The U.S. extended by one year national emergencies authorizing sanctions against Iran and Burundi, the White House said Nov. 12. U.S. relations with Iran “have not yet normalized,” so the national emergency will continue in effect through Nov. 14, 2021, it said. Although Burundi has shown progress toward a “peaceful transfer of power,” the U.S. has “not seen sufficient evidence that the situation is resolved,” the White House said, continuing the national emergency through Nov. 22, 2021.
The United Kingdom’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation amended 16 entries under its Venezuela sanctions regime, a Nov. 13 notice said. The notice updates identifying information for military and government officials under the Nicolas Maduro regime.
Western Union has not been able to find a workaround to new Treasury Department restrictions on Cuba (see 2010280027) and said it will soon not be able to process money transfers to the island, the company told customers Nov. 13. The company said it has “been working around the clock to explore every possible option to keep our services open between the U.S. and Cuba” but “we have not been able to find a solution in this limited timeframe.” The remittance restrictions, announced by Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control earlier this year (see 2009230029 and 2010230024), will take effect Nov. 27.