The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned five people, along with their companies, for helping Hezbollah money exchanger Hassan Moukalled evade sanctions and support the terrorist group, the agency said this week. OFAC said the individuals include two co-founders of CTEX Exchange, the company owned by Moukalled, along with his business consultant.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on April 26 deleted two Russia-related entries on its Specially Designated Nationals List: Ice Pearl Navigation Corp. and crude oil tanker Yasa Golden Bosphorus. OFAC sanctioned both in 2023 for transporting Russian oil sold above the global price cap set by the U.S. and its allies (see 2310120029). The agency didn’t say why it removed the designations.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on April 29 renewed an authorization for certain Russia-related energy transactions. General License 8I, which replaced GL 8H, authorizes certain transactions with several Russian energy companies through 12:01 a.m. EDT Nov. 1. The license was previously scheduled to expire May 1 (see 2310250012).
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, in an interview with Reuters, said that while in her view, outright seizure of frozen Russian assets in the U.S. and Europe is justifiable, that's not the only option to put those assets to use to help Ukraine's economy survive the Russian invasion.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control is sanctioning 16 entities, eight people, five vessels and one aircraft for their involvement in the Iranian military’s drone trade, the agency announced April 25.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on April 23 sanctioned two leaders of al-Qa’ida-aligned terrorist group Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) for the hostage-taking of U.S. persons in West Africa. The designations target Sidan ag Hitta of Mali and Jafar Dicko of Burkina Faso. Concurrently, the State Department sanctioned five JNIM leaders, as well as two al-Murabitoun leaders, for hostage taking of U.S. nationals.
Principal Deputy National Security Adviser Jon Finer highlighted U.S. and European cooperation on sanctions and export controls while speaking at the Transatlantic Business Summit hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and BusinessEurope, and said their governments are working on more ways to punish Russia for its aggression against Ukraine.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on April 23 sanctioned two companies and four people for their roles in malicious cyber activity against more than a dozen U.S. companies and government entities on behalf of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Cyber Electronic Command (IRGC-CEC).
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said April 21 that if sanctions are imposed on a unit of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), “I will fight this with all my powers.” Axios reported the previous day that the Biden administration plans to sanction the IDF’s Netzah Yehuda battalion for alleged human rights violations against Palestinians in the West Bank.
The U.S. is sanctioning three entities in China and one in Belarus for supplying missile-applicable items to Pakistan’s ballistic missile programs, including its long-range missile program, the State Department announced April 19. The entities are Granpect Company Limited, Tianjin Creative Source International Trade Company LImited, and Xi’an Longde Technology Development Company Limited, all of China; and Belarus-based Minsk Wheel Tractor Plant.