The Office of Foreign Assets Control last week sanctioned six Iranians and one Iranian entity for trying to influence the 2020 U.S. presidential election. OFAC said they “sought to sow discord and undermine voters’ faith in the U.S. electoral process” through misinformation on social media, “threatening emails” and a video implying that “individuals could cast fraudulent ballots.” The designations targeted the Iranian cyber company Emennet Pasargad, its manager Mohammad Bagher Shirinkar and others affiliated with the company: Seyyed Mohammad Hosein Musa Kazemi, Sajjad Kashian, Mostafa Sarmadi, Seyyed Mehdi Hashemi Toghroljerdi and Hosein Akbari Nodeh. OFAC said it previously designated Shirinkar for supporting the Iranian military and previously sanctioned Emennet Pasargad under its former name: Net Peygard Samavat Co.
President Joe Biden terminated the national emergency declared in a 2015 executive order that authorized certain sanctions against Burundi, the White House said Nov. 18. The “stability” of Burundi “has been significantly altered by events of the past year, including the transfer of power following elections in 2020, significantly decreased violence” and government reforms, the White House said. As a result, the Office of Foreign Assets Control removed a range of Burundi-related entries from its Specially Designationed Nationals List.
The U.S. and the United Kingdom announced new sanctions against Nicaragua Nov. 15 for human rights violations or actions that have undermined democracy in the country. The U.S. designated nine government officials and one government entity, while the U.K. sanctioned eight government officials.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Nov. 12 deleted 10 people and 33 entities from its Specially Designated Nationals List that were sanctioned under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act. The sanctions were removed from entries located in Mexico, Colombia and Panama after they "demonstrated a change in behavior" or there was a change in " circumstances," an OFAC spokesperson said. The person added that most of the companies removed from the SDN List "are defunct or have been seized by foreign governments" and "are not independently linked to any individuals who remain on the SDN List."
The Office of Foreign Assets Control last week issued the first designations under the recently established Ethiopian and Eritrean sanctions regime (see 2109170036), targeting four entities and two people for contributing to the two countries' ongoing conflict. OFAC also issued a general license authorizing certain transactions with two of the sanctioned entities and published two new frequently asked questions.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned two Cambodian government officials for corruption, the agency said Nov. 10. The designations target Chau Phirun, the director-general of the defense ministry’s material and technical services department, and Tea Vinh, the country’s navy commander.
The U.S. government and the United Nations, including their contractors, are allowed to conduct transactions related to Syria that involve “stabilization and early recovery-related activities,” the Office of Foreign Assets Control said in a Nov. 8 frequently asked question. OFAC also said the U.S. government and its contractors are authorized by a general license “to engage in all transactions in support of their official business” in Syria. The exemption applies to all government employees, including non-governmental organizations and private companies acting as grantees or contractors. The agency stressed that all U.N. or U.S. grantees or contractors must provide a copy of their contract or grant with either the U.N. or the U.S. “before the U.S. person engages in or facilitates any transaction or activity.”
A United Arab Emirates bank violated the U.S.’s now-repealed Sudanese Sanctions Regulations when it illegally processed more than 1,700 payments for Sudanese banks, the Office of Foreign Assets Control said Nov. 9. The bank, Mashreqbank psc, was issued a “finding of violation” by OFAC instead of a fine, partly because the bank voluntarily entered into a “retroactive statute of limitations waiver agreement,” which allowed OFAC to charge Mashreq with the sanctions violations.
Norbert Basengezi Katintima, former vice president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo's National Independent Electoral Commission (CENI), launched a case Nov. 5 at the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to challenge his spot on the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List. Katintima is challenging the decision made by the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control to deny his delisting application. The former CENI official says that the circumstances that contributed to his original listing have changed, necessitating his removal from the list (Norbert Basengezi Katintima v. Bradley Smith, et al., D.D.C. #21-02917).
Although companies shouldn’t expect the Treasury Department's recently released sanctions review to lead to major policy changes, it could result in slightly fewer designations, clearer humanitarian exemptions and more sanctions guidance, law firms said.