Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with the top stories from last week in case you missed them. You can find any article by searching for the title or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
The U.S. announced new sanctions this week against people and entities in China, Hong Kong and Iran for helping Iran procure “sensitive and critical parts and technology” for its ballistic missile programs. The “network” has also helped the Iranian government conduct financial transactions in support of its missile development efforts and aided the country’s Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics (MODAFL), as well as other affiliated procurement organizations, the Office of Foreign Assets Control said.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned seven members of a “malign influence group” with ties to Russian government intelligence. The designations target Konstantin Prokopyevich Sapozhnikov, Yury Yuryevich Makolov, Gleb Maksimovich Khloponin, Svetlana Andreyevna Boyko, Aleksey Vyacheslavovich Losev, Vasily Viktorovich Gromovikov and Anna Travnikova, all of whom are involved in efforts to “destabilize” the Moldovan government. OFAC also sanctioned Perko Julleuchter, a workshop that produces ceramic lanterns, which is owned by Losev.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control published previously issued general licenses, a sectoral determination and a directive under its Russian Harmful Foreign Activities Sanctions Regulations. Each notice includes the full text of the licenses, determination and directive.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control last week sanctioned Iranian technology company Arvan Cloud, two of its senior employees and an affiliated business in the United Arab Emirates for helping the Iranian government’s internet censorship. The agency said Arvan Cloud, also known as Navyan Abr Arvan Private Limited Co., is a “key partner” of Iran’s Information and Communications Technology Ministry and was co-founded by Pouya Pirhosseinloo and Farhad Fatemi. Also designated was Dubai-based ArvanCloud Global Technologies, which provides cloud services on behalf of Arvan Cloud.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned members and affiliates of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the IRGC-Qods Force who have ties to the groups’ terrorist and assasination plots in the U.S. and abroad. The designations target various IRGC officials and associates, along with Rey Havacilik Ithalat Ihracat Sanayi Ve Ticaret Anonim Sirketi, a Turkey-based airline, for assisting the group’s operations. Brian Nelson, undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said they help Iran target “those they deem enemies of the Iranian regime.”
The U.S. this week issued its first set of Sudan sanctions since a May executive order expanded U.S. sanctions authority against the country (see 2305040037), designating four companies, including its largest defense firm, earning revenue or contributing to Sudan’s ongoing military conflict. The designations, announced June 1 by the Office of Foreign Assets Control, include four new general licenses to authorize certain essential transactions, including for humanitarian aid.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control issued a new Russia-related general license this week that authorizes certain transactions involving Hungary-based International Investment Bank, which was sanctioned in April for being a Russia-controlled financial institution (see 2304120039). New GL 69 authorizes certain transactions “necessary to the processing of interest or principal payments on debt securities issued” by the bank before April 12, 2023. Those transactions are authorized through 12:01 a.m. EDT on June 30 as long as the interest or principal payments are not made to people located in Russia and that any payments to a sanctioned person are made into a blocked account in accordance with the Russian Harmful Foreign Activities Sanctions Regulations. Certain other conditions apply.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned two Syrian money service businesses this week, saying they help the Syrian regime, run by Bashar al-Assad, and its sanctioned allies access the international financial system. The designations target Damascus-based Al-Fadel Exchange along with the three brothers that own the company -- Fadel Ma’ruf Balwi, Mut’i Ma’ruf Balwi and Muhammad Ma’ruf Balwi -- and Al-Adham Exchange Company, also based in Damascus. The businesses have helped transfer millions of dollars to accounts at the U.S.-sanctioned Central Bank of Syria to benefit the Syrian government, OFAC said.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned 17 people and entities involved in selling equipment used to make illegal drugs, including seven entities and six people based in China and one entity and three people in Mexico. The designations target companies that supply pill press machines, die molds and other equipment used to “impress counterfeit trade markings of legitimate pharmaceuticals onto illicitly produced pills,” including China-based Youli Technology Development Co. and Yason General Machinery along with Mexico-based Mexpacking Solutions. The agency also sanctioned the owners and employees of those companies and others.