A senior Treasury Department official this week touted what he said has been a successful implementation of the price cap on Russian oil (see 2305190022), saying it has “struck at the heart of the Kremlin’s most important cash cow.” Eight months after the U.S. and allies announced the first cap on Russian crude oil, Russian energy is “trading at a significant discount” to other oil sources, and has significantly limited Moscow’s profits on each barrel, said Eric Van Nostrand, acting assistant secretary for economic policy.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week removed sanctions from Satish Seemar, who was designated in 2020 for being a horse trainer for Ramzan Kadyrov, the head of the Chechen Republic who has ties to human rights abuses. OFAC also removed the vessel Addiction (9HA4571) from the Specially Designated Nationals List. The Malta-flagged yacht has links to Sergei Nikolaevich Adonev, sanctioned earlier this year for being a financier for Russian President Vladimir Putin. The agency didn’t release more information.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned one government official from Bosnia and Herzegovina and three from the Republika Srpska, one of two entities comprising Bosnia and Herzegovina, for threatening the “stability, sovereignty, and territorial integrity” of the country. The designations target Nenad Stevandic, speaker and president of the Republika Srpska National Assembly; Radovan Viskovic, prime minister of the Republika Srpska; Zeljka Cvijanovic, a Serb member of the Bosnia and Herzegovina presidency; and Milos Bukejlovic, the Republika Srpska justice minister.
The U.S. this week sanctioned “key leaders” and financial facilitators of the Islamic State group and al-Qaida in Maldives, including 20 operatives and 29 of their companies. The designations also target Maldives-based terrorist-affiliated criminal gangs, including people who have carried out attacks that targeted journalists and local authorities.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control is launching two short-video series to provide “further clarity” on U.S. sanctions requirements, sanctions programs and “practical suggestions on how to comply effectively,” the agency announced last week. The first video, released July 28, is part of a series to “provide viewers with a high-level introduction on the fundamentals of OFAC and sanctions implementation.” The second video series, which will be released in the coming months, will address specific, frequently asked questions from OFAC’s hotline, including “how to most effectively use OFAC’s Sanctions List Search tool and steps to validate a potential sanctions match.”
The Office of Foreign Assets Control last week deleted four Venezuela-related entries from its Specially Designated Nationals List, including Didier Casimiro, who was sanctioned in 2020 for being board chair and president of Russian energy company Rosneft (see 2002180033). OFAC also amended the SDN entry for Tabacos USA, sanctioned in January (see 2301260073). OFAC didn’t release more information.
The U.K.’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation on July 28 revised or corrected entries under its Russia, Central African Republic and Mali sanctions regimes. The U.K. amended the entries for Andrey Vladimirovich Sharonov and Eugene Tenenbaum under Russia; corrected the entries for Alexander Alexandrovich Ivanov and Vitalii Viktorovitch Perfilev under the CAR; and corrected the entry for Ivan Aleksandrovitch Maslov for Mali.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned Abdiweli Mohamed Yusuf, the head of the finance office of the Somalia-based affiliate of the Islamic State group. OFAC said Yusuf has played a “key role” in delivering foreign fighters, supplies and ammunition to the Islamic State affiliate, which “serves as a hub for disbursing funds and guidance” to other “branches and networks across the continent.”
The Treasury Department is seeking public comments as it renews an information collection that outlines certain financial restrictions against China-based Bank of Dandong, which is designated as a “primary money laundering concern.” The designation by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network prohibits U.S. financial institutions from opening or maintaining certain correspondent accounts at the bank, and requires those financial institutions to “apply due diligence to correspondent accounts they maintain on behalf of foreign financial institutions that is reasonably designed to guard against the indirect use of those accounts by Bank of Dandong.” Comments are due Sept. 25.
President Joe Biden this week renewed national emergencies authorizing certain sanctions related to Mali and Lebanon, the White House said. Mali continues to experience terrorism and drug trafficking, the White House said, and in Lebanon there continues to be parties seeking to undermine the country's "legitimate and democratically elected government or democratic institutions." The emergency for Mali was renewed for one year from July 26, and for Lebanon, for one year from Aug. 1.