The Office of Foreign Assets Control published a list this week of medical devices that are prohibited from being exported or reexported to North Korea under an OFAC general license that allows for certain exports of medicine, medical devices, agricultural goods and more. The export or reexport of the notice's list of medical devices to North Korea are excluded from the scope of the license and require specific authorization from OFAC, the agency said. The list includes general medical supplies and equipment, such as oxygen generators, as well as specific lab equipment, such as nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometers.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week renewed two Russia-related general licenses that authorize certain transactions related to crude oil originating from the Sakhalin-2 project and certain transactions with Russian entities related to civil nuclear energy.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week updated seven Venezuela-related general licenses, including by revising language that governs how contracts executed under those licenses are governed.
Months after the U.S. began issuing Venezuela sanctions relief, industry is beginning to feel more confident in processing transactions with the country’s oil and gas sector, sanctions lawyers said.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control reimposed sanctions this week on U.N. official Francesca Albanese after an appellate court granted a stay on a lower court's preliminary injunction that had temporarily blocked sanctions against her. Albanese was officially added back to OFAC's Specially Designated Nationals List on May 27.
Cloudflare, a California-based website infrastructure company, said it received a no-action letter from the Office of Foreign Assets Control after disclosing possible violations of U.S. sanctions.
The U.S. on May 7 designated two Cuban entities and an executive under new sanctions authorities announced by President Donald Trump earlier this month, and it also issued a new general license and a set of FAQs to clarify the scope of the authorities and how the new sanctions apply to foreign persons.
Companies with ties to ocean shipping could face renewed compliance risks if the U.S. follows through on recent rumors and rejoins the coalition imposing strict sanctions on Russia, a lawyer said last week during a webinar hosted by the Association of Certified Sanctions Specialists.
The U.S. last week sanctioned a Chinese teapot refinery that it said is one of the largest customers of Iranian oil. It also sanctioned 40 shipping firms and vessels that operate as part of Iran’s shadow fleet and transport petroleum and petrochemicals for the Iranian government.
The U.S. this week sanctioned Kok An, saying the Cambodian senator controls scam compounds in the country. The U.S. also sanctioned nearly 30 people and entities that it said have ties to An or help operate the compounds and steal millions of dollars from U.S. people.