The U.S. this week designated 26 companies, people and vessels linked to the sanctioned Al-Qatirji Company, a Syrian conglomerate that OFAC said generates hundreds of millions of dollars for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force and the Yemen-based Houthis by selling Iranian oil to Syria and China.

Companies have not encountered any major hurdles as they seek to comply with the Office of Foreign Assets Control’s new interim final rule extending sanctions-related record-keeping requirements from five years to 10 years, according to two trade lawyers interviewed.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week issued several new and revised FAQs to provide sanctions guidance to the insurance industry.

The U.K. offered guidance this week about how companies should address a recently announced Russian decree that requires securities held at the country's National Settlement Depository to be transferred to local Russian registrars. The move is an attempt by Russia to evade Western sanctions on its National Settlement Depository, the U.K. said in new FAQ 124, warning British companies that the local Russian registrars may also be captured by sanctions.

The U.K.’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation this week sanctioned Abdel Rahman Juma Barkalla and Osman Mohamed Hamid Mohamed, two senior officials with the Rapid Support Forces, a militant group in Sudan that has been accused of human rights violations. The designations follow similar sanctions imposed by the U.N. (see 2411120042) and the U.S. (see 2411120006).

The U.N. Security Council on Nov. 8 sanctioned two people connected to the Rapid Support Forces, a militant group in Sudan that has been accused of human rights violations. The designations target Abdel Rahman Juma Barkalla, a major general and West Darfur commander of the RSF, and Osman Mohamed Hamid Mohamed, also a senior official with the RSF. The U.S. sanctioned Barkalla this week and included several alternate spellings for his name (see 2411120006)

The EU will use sanctions to penalize third countries helping Russia fight its war against Ukraine, including those that deliver weapons or other lethal aid to Moscow, Josep Borrell, the EU’s foreign affairs chief, warned this week.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control issued a final rule this week to revise its sanctions regulations for Myanmar, releasing a “more comprehensive set of regulations” with more guidance and definitions. The rule, effective Nov. 13, also includes general licenses and “other regulatory provisions that will provide further guidance to the public,” OFAC said. The new regulations replace the rules that were published in “abbreviated form” in 2021.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned Abdel Rahman Joma’a Barakallah for being the West Darfur commander of the Rapid Support Forces, a Sudanese militant group warring with the Sudanese Armed Forces. OFAC said he played a “key role” in the kidnapping and killing of West Darfur Governor Khamis Abbakar and other human rights violations.

A U.S. financial software company said it received a warning letter this month from the Office of Foreign Assets Control after disclosing possible sanctions violations.