The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Oct. 29 updated a Liberia-related vessel on its Specially Designated Nationals List. The entry lists the Oman Pride, a Liberia-flagged crude oil tanker subject to secondary sanctions. The tanker was sanctioned in August for being operated by Bravery Maritime, a company owned by Iranian oil shipper Mahmood Rashid Amur Al Habsi (see 2108130041).
The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned four people and two companies for providing “critical support” to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ unmanned aerial vehicle programs, the agency said Oct. 29. The designations target Iran-based Kimia Part Sivan Co. (KIPAS) and Oje Parvaz Mado Nafar Co. (Mado) for helping to bolster Iran’s UAV capabilities. OFAC also sanctioned Mohammad Ebrahim Zargar Tehrani, who helps KIPAS source its components from foreign companies; Yousef Aboutalebi, managing director for Mado; IRGC Brig. Gen. Abdollah Mehrabi, who is chairman of Mado; and IRGC Brig. Gen. Saeed Aghajani, who oversees the IRGC’s aerospace and UAV operations.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Oct. 28 sanctioned two Lebanese businessmen and a member of Lebanon's parliament whose actions have “contributed to the breakdown of good governance and the rule of law” in the country. The sanctions target businessmen Jihad al-Arab and Dany Khoury as well as lawmaker Jamil Sayyed.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control released the texts of six previously issued Ukraine-related General Licenses. The licenses are GLs 16, 16A, 16B, 16C, 16D and 16E. The licenses authorized certain transactions with Russian companies EN+ Group PLC and JSC EuroSibEnergo. The first five have expired, the sixth was revoked. The U.S. removed sanctions from both companies in 2019 (see 1905150064).
The Office of Foreign Assets Control published in the Federal Register the texts of nine previously issued Venezuela-related General Licenses, including one that is still active. The licenses are Venezuela GLs 8, 8A, 8B, 8C, 8D, 8E, 8F, 8G and 8H. GL 8H (see 2106020003), which expires Dec. 1, authorizes certain transactions between Venezuela's state-owned energy company Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PdVSA) and Chevron, Halliburton, Schlumberger, Baker Hughes and Weatherford International.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Oct. 22 updated a Mexico-related entry on its Specially Designated Nationals List. The agency updated the entry for Jaime Humberto Gonzalez Higuera, who was sanctioned in September (see 2109220032) for having ties to a Mexican drug cartel.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control published in the Federal Register the texts of four previously issued Venezuela-related General Licenses. GLs 7, 7A, 7B, and 7C outline authorizations for certain transactions with PDV Holding and Citgo Holding for 18-month periods (see 2110010034).
The Office of Foreign Assets Control released a guidance aimed to help the "virtual currency industry navigate and comply with OFAC sanctions," it said Oct. 15. The guide includes a set of frequently asked questions and case studies about virtual currencies and sanctions.
A recent sanctions enforcement case highlighted the various export compliance hurdles associated with sales through overseas distributors, which is becoming one of the “greatest areas of export compliance risk,” Williams Mullen said in an Oct. 13 alert. In the case, the Office of Foreign Assets Control said Texas-based NewTek sold products to third-country distributors despite having knowledge those products were intended for an Iran-based reseller (see 2109100007), which ultimately led to sanctions violations.
The U.S. and more than 30 other countries are meeting virtually this week to discuss how to better counter and disrupt ransomware attacks, including through sanctions, the White House said Oct. 13. The meetings come less than a month after the U.S. sanctioned SUEX, a large virtual currency exchange, for helping to facilitate transactions related to illegal ransomware attacks (see 2109210031). The White House said the Treasury Department “will continue to disrupt and hold accountable these ransomware actors and their money laundering networks,” and the meetings this week could be a forum for discussing multilateral actions.