The Office of Foreign Assets Control published a notice Nov. 30 listing three previously issued Venezuela-related general licenses that contain authorizations related to Petroleos de Venezuela. In addition to the current General License 5E, the notice contains general licenses 5C and 5D, both of which were superseded by GL 5E, which was issued in October (see 2010060036). The authorizations in GL 5E will become effective Jan. 19, 2021.
The U.S. extended by one year the national emergency authorizing sanctions against Nicaragua, the White House said Nov. 24. President Daniel Ortega’s regime continues to undermine democratic institutions and abuse human rights in the country, the notice said. The emergency would have ended Nov. 27.
Russia announced sanctions on 25 United Kingdom officials in retaliation for U.K. sanctions against Russia earlier this year (see 2007060025). “We once again call on the British leadership to abandon an unfounded confrontational line with regard to our country,” Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Nov. 21, according to an unofficial translation. “Any unfriendly steps will not be left without an inevitable proportionate response.”
The United Kingdom’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation corrected an entry under its Mali sanctions regime, it said in a Nov. 19 notice. The change corrects and updates identifying information for the entry for Houka Houka Ag Alhousseini.
The U.S. plans to impose new sanctions on Iran in the “coming weeks and months,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said, warning of the “dangerous” consequences if the restrictions are lifted. In a Nov. 18 statement, Pompeo touted the U.S. sanctions regime against Iran and called on other countries to not give in to Iranian demands for sanctions relief.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned two entities involved in the “exportation of forced labor” from North Korea, according to a Nov. 19 press release. The designations target Mokran LLC, a Russian construction company, and Korea Cholsan General Trading Corporation, a North Korean company operating in Russia, for exporting forced labor to generate revenue for the North Korean government, OFAC said.
Twenty-one United Kingdom parliamentarians urged their government to impose sanctions on Chinese entities and people responsible for human rights violations in China’s Xinjiang region, following similar moves by the U.S. The members, part of the U.K.’s Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, urged Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab to sanction the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, the Xinjiang Public Security Bureau, and Chinese officials Chen Quanguo, Zhu Hailun, Sun Jinlong, Peng Jiarui, Wang Mingshan and Huo Liujun, all sanctioned by the U.S. earlier this year (see 2007090024 and 2007310028).
The U.S. sanctioned more than 50 people and entities for being part of a “key patronage network” for Iran’s supreme leader, the Treasury Department said in a Nov. 18 news release. The agency also sanctioned Iranian Minister of Intelligence and Security Mahmoud Alavi for human rights abuses. In total, Treasury sanctioned one vessel, nine people and more than 40 entities.
The United Kingdom’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation on Nov. 16 removed sanctions from Neda Industrial Group to align with the European Union, which lifted the designation last week (see 2011160010). The U.K. said Neda Industrial Group is an “industrial automation company” that has worked for Kalaye Electric Company at the uranium fuel enrichment plant in Natanz, Iran. Kalaye has been involved in centrifuge component production.
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).