The Biden administration is considering a request from Chevron to reinstate a license that would allow it to trade in sanctioned Venezuelan oil cargo and recoup unpaid debt, Reuters reported Feb. 7. Under the Trump administration, the U.S. oil company and others were authorized to “take and export Venezuelan oil to recoup dividends and debt from joint ventures” with Petróleos de Venezuela, the country’s state-run energy company, the report said. The “arrangement” was suspended in 2020 under Trump’s maximum pressure campaign on sanctions.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Feb. 3 sanctioned World Human Care, a non-governmental organization created by Indonesia-based terrorist group Majelis Mujahidin Indonesia. OFAC said the group provides financial support for MMI “extremists” in Syria “under the guise of humanitarian aid.”
The Office of Foreign Assets Control issued seven new frequently asked questions to provide more guidance on humanitarian shipments to Afghanistan. The new FAQs, issued Feb. 3, clarify aspects of general licenses 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 and 19 for authorized assistance by nongovernmental organizations and international organizations within Afghanistan that may involve transactions with the Taliban. These forms of assistance include cash shipments, bank transactions, support for municipal water systems that "directly benefit the Afghan people," and salary support for teachers and healthcare workers "even to the extent doing so would involve transacting with the Taliban and/or Haqqani Network."
The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned seven people and two entities connected to Myanmar's military, the agency said Jan. 31. The sanctions target KT Services & Logistics Co., which operates the TMT Port in Yangon and leases it from the U.S.-sanctioned Myanmar Economic Holdings, and the Directorate of Procurement of the Commander-In-Chief of Defense Services, which buys arms and equipment for the country’s military. OFAC also designated government officials Thida Oo, Tun Tun Oo and Tin Oo, along with Jonathan Myo Kyaw Thaung, Tay Za, Htoo Htet Tay Za and Pye Phyo Tay Za, all of whom have ties to business dealings with the government.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Jan. 31 removed a vessel from its Specially Designated Nationals List. The agency deleted the Oman Pride crude oil tanker, a Liberia-flagged vessel sanctioned last year for being operated by Bravery Maritime, a company owned by Iranian oil shipper Mahmood Rashid Amur Al Habsi (see 2110290024 and 2108130041). OFAC didn’t immediately provide more information.
Lawmakers submitted a host of amendments to the House’s recently released China competition bill, including measures that would introduce new export controls and sanctions authorities and requirements. One submission, a 115-page amendment from Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, would create more congressional oversight of the Commerce Department’s emerging and foundational technology control effort and calls for expanded export restrictions against Chinese military companies.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Jan. 24 extended two Ukraine-related licenses. General License 13Q, which replaces 13P "Authorizing Certain Transactions Necessary to Divest or Transfer Debt, Equity, or Other Holdings in GAZ Group," and General License 15K, which replaces 15J "Authorizing Certain Activities Involving GAZ Group." These licenses were set to expire Jan. 26, via a previous extension issued Dec. 23, 2020. The new licenses are being extended for 90 days, through 12:01 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time, April 27. OFAC also updated its frequently asked questions related to the updated GLs.
Akin Gump broadened its international trade practice with the addition of two former U.S. government officials and sanctions and export controls lawyers, the firm announced. Elyse Martin, former official at the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control, and George Pence, former assistant U.S. attorney in the Central District of California, have joined the firm as senior counsel. While at OFAC, Martin served as the assistant director for Regulatory Affairs for two years and for over a year as chief of sanctions program implementation in the Sanctions Compliance and Evaluation Division, the firm said. As assistant U.S. attorney, Pence worked on investigations and prosecutions pertaining to export crimes, terrorism and other national security matters, it said.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control designated Hezbollah-affiliated financial facilitator Adnan Ayad to its Specially Designated Nationals List on Jan. 21. Ayad’s business partner Adel Diab was designated on Jan. 18 (see 2201180011). According to OFAC, Ayad is a Hezbollah member and businessman who, with Diab, operates an international network of companies. The two have used their Lebanon-based company, Al Amir Co. for Engineering, Construction, and General Trade SARL, to raise funds and launder money for Hezbollah.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control made a technical amendment to the definition of “applicable schedule amount,” which establishes a base penalty for non-egregious sanctions violations cases that do not involve a voluntary self-disclosure. OFAC has periodically raised its “applicable schedule amount” to correspond to the agency’s civil monetary penalties, which are adjusted annually for inflation (see 2104090006). Under the new definition, the applicable schedule amount “will automatically rise with OFAC’s CMPs, removing the necessity of updating the applicable schedule amount on an annual basis,” the agency said. The change becomes effective Jan. 21.