The U.S. plans to send a delegation to the United Arab Emirates this week to discuss sanctions compliance and warn businesses and banks against facilitating Iranian commerce, a State Department spokesperson said. The delegation will be led by Andrea Gacki, director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control, and include other Treasury and State Department officials.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Dec. 10 issued a new general license authorizing certain non-commercial, personal remittances to Afghanistan. General License No. 16 authorizes certain transactions involving the Taliban, the Haqqani Network, or any entity they own by 50% or more if those transactions are “ordinarily incident and necessary to the transfer” of personal remittances to Afghanistan.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control imposed investment restrictions on SenseTime Group Ltd., a major Chinese technology company, and sanctioned 15 people and 10 other companies for human rights abuses, the agency said Dec. 10. SenseTime, which had prepared to price shares Dec. 10 in its initial public offering in Hong Kong, will now be subject to a U.S. investment ban and added to OFAC’s list of companies with ties to China’s military (see 2106030067).
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Dec. 9 sanctioned seven people and eight entities in Central America, Africa and Europe for corruption. The designations target a multimillion-dollar corruption scheme involving “suspicious procurements” in El Salvador, government corruption in Guatemala and South Sudan, a former warlord in Liberia, a former government official in Ukraine and an embezzlement network in Angola. The U.S. announced the sanctions as part of International Anti-Corruption Day.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control fined an unnamed person about $133,000 after they violated U.S. sanctions against Iran, OFAC said in a Dec. 8 notice. OFAC said the person accepted payment on behalf of an Iran-based company selling cement clinker to another company for a project in a third country.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Dec. 8 sanctioned 16 people and 24 entities for corruption and human rights violations, continuing its string of designations this week under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act (see 2112070058 and 2112060014). The designations target a crime network in Kosovo and their affiliated companies or entities across Europe. OFAC also sanctioned people in El Salvador for helping to coordinate a “secret truce” between the country’s government and gang leaders, including MS-13.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned people and entities in Uganda, Iran and Syria for human rights abuses or for undermining democratic institutions. The designations target military or government officials in all three countries as well as two Iranian law enforcement agencies and two Iranian prisons, OFAC said Dec. 7. The U.S. purposefully issued the sanctions just ahead of its democracy summit later this week, which will convene more than 100 of the world’s democracies to discuss collaboration on human rights issues, anti-corruption and more. “Consistent with the goals of this week’s Summit for Democracy, the United States is committed to using its full range of tools to counter serious human rights abuse and repressive acts across the world,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned Alain Mukonda and 12 companies linked to Mukonda for providing support to sanctioned billionaire Dan Gertler, OFAC said Dec. 6. Mukonda and the companies are based in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Dec. 1 added three people and two entities to its Specially Designated Nationals List and deleted a range of other SDN entries. The additions are for Euclides Espana Caicedo, Hernan Dario Velasquez Saldarriaga, Nestor Gregorio Vera Fernandez, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia - People’s Army and Segunda Marquetalia. The State Department this week announced related terrorist designations (see 2111300029). OFAC also deleted a list of entries for people and groups with ties to Colombia and Venezuela. The agency didn’t release more information about the deletions.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned an additional 20 people, 12 entities and three aircraft for aiding the Alexander Lukashenko regime in Belarus. The agency also imposed new restrictions on dealings in Belarusian sovereign debt, and issued a new general license and 10 new frequently asked questions to provide guidance on the new sanctions.