The Office of Foreign Assets Control last week renewed a general license authorizing transactions between certain companies and Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. General License No. 8J, which replaces No. 8I (see 2111290007), authorizes transactions between PdVSA and Chevron, Halliburton, Schlumberger, Baker Hughes and Weatherford International, with certain restrictions, through 12:01 a.m. EDT Dec. 1, 2022. The license was scheduled to expire June. 1.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control fined Puerto Rican bank Banco Popular de Puerto Rico (BPPR) about $255,000 for violating U.S. sanctions against Venezuela. BPPR processed 337 transactions on behalf of two government employees of Venezuela, totaling $853,126, OFAC said May 27.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control is designating the international oil smuggling and money laundering network led by Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force officials, according to a May 25 news release. The network has overseen the sale of "hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of Iranian oil" for both the IRGC-QF and for Hezbollah, the Treasury Department said. IRGC-QF official Behnam Shahriyari and former IRGC-QF official Rostam Ghasemi head the network, backed by "senior levels of the Russian Federation government and state-run economic organs," Treasury said. The network has acted as a "critical element of Iran’s oil revenue generation," and support for proxy militant groups in the region.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on May 25 extended a Russia-related General License that authorizes the payment of certain taxes and import fees to Russia despite the sanctions imposed on the Russian central bank, national wealth fund and Ministry of Finance. General License 13A, which replaces General License No. 13 (see 2203030001), extends the authorization through 12:01 a.m. EDT on Sept. 30, 2022, and also authorizes certain activities involving permits, licenses, registrations or certifications. The license was scheduled to expire June 24.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control added a Hamas finance official, three Hamas financial facilitators, and six companies that have generated revenues for Hamas to its Specially Designated Nationals list, it announced May 24. The "expansive network" has generated revenue for the group through the management of an international investment portfolio, a related press release said. Hamas’s Investment Office is in charge of the day-to-day management of its estimated $500 million portfolio, including companies operating in Sudan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Algeria and the United Arab Emirates. “Today’s action targets the individuals and companies that Hamas uses to conceal and launder funds. ... The United States is committed to denying Hamas the ability to generate and move funds,” Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes Elizabeth Rosenberg said.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control said it will not renew the expiring General License 9C, with its authorizations set to end at 12:01 a.m. EDT on May 25. The license allowed transactions necessary to dealings in debt or equity with Bank for Development and Foreign Economic Affairs Vnesheconombank, Bank Otkritie Financial Corporation, Sovcombank Open Joint Stock Company, Sberbank of Russia and VTB Bank (see 2204080046).
Russia announced new sanctions against U.S. citizens, including two Treasury Department officials and two former Bureau of Industry and Security officials, according to an unofficial translation of a May 21 notice. Russia designated Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo, who has overseen some of the agency’s sanctions work, and Andrea Gacki, the director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control is alerting users of its website and sanctions list data files of upcoming technical changes. The agency is beginning its annual renewal of the public certificate for its website, including its sanctions list downloads, and said its existing certificate will be replaced May 26 beginning at 9 p.m. The process will take about three to six hours for the replacement to be widely distributed, OFAC said in a May 23 notice. Users may need to update their configuration to trust the renewed certificate in order to prevent a loss of functionality.
The departments of state, the treasury, commerce and labor issued an advisory concerning U.S. Businesses in Sudan, to highlight the growing risks to American interests conducting business in the country, especially with Sudanese state-owned enterprises. Recent actions undertaken by the Sudanese government and security forces could adversely impact U.S. businesses and their operations in the country and the region, according to the advisory.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control has designated Lebanese businessman and Hezbollah financier Ahmad Jalal Reda Abdallah along with five associates and eight of his companies in Lebanon and Iraq, according to a May 19 notice. The action highlighted Hezbollah’s practice of using seemingly legitimate businesses to secretly fund the terrorist group and its activities, the OFAC news release said.