The State Department this week labeled the Iraqi paramilitary organization Kata’ib al-Imam Ali and Nasr Mohsen Ali Huthele, the leader of the Harakat al-Nujaba, another Iraqi paramilitary group, specially designated global terrorists. The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned both in June for counterterrorism reasons (see 2506130001).

The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned an Iranian business executive and five entities based in Iran, mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan for procuring technology on behalf of Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industrial Company, an Iranian state-owned subsidiary of the country's Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics. OFAC said the subsidiary makes military aircraft, including unmanned drones for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The U.N. Security Council this week unanimously agreed to renew its sanctions regime targeting non-state armed groups and people operating in the Central African Republic. The sanctions were renewed for one year, extending them until July 31, 2026.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control has renewed a sanctions waiver for Serbia’s majority-Russian-owned oil company NIS, an entity designated in January for its ties to Russian oil firm Gazprom Neft. At the request of Serbia's Mining and Energy agency, the U.S. now has extended a waiver for the designation five times since January, Serbian Energy Minister Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic said July 27, according to an unofficial translation. NIS operates the country's only oil refinery.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned Alexandre de Moraes, a Brazilian Supreme Federal Court judge that it said has ordered "arbitrary pre-trial detentions" and suppressed freedom of expression.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned more than 115 people, entities and vessels for their ties to Iran, including for their part in a “vast shipping empire” controlled by Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani, the son of a top political adviser to the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ali Shamkhani. The designations -- which target a network generating tens of billions of dollars for Iran by moving oil and petroleum products from Iran and Russia to buyers around the world -- represent the U.S.'s largest Iran-related sanctions action since 2018, OFAC said.

The Council of the European Union on July 29 decided to renew its list of individuals and entities subject to restrictive measures meant to combat terrorism. The measures cover 13 individuals and 22 entities. As part of the renewal, the council delisted one deceased individual but left the rest "unchanged."

The Office of Foreign Assets Control's $11.8 million sanctions fine levied on Interactive Brokers earlier this month is another sign that the agency intends to focus enforcement on "financial gatekeepers," including investment firms, accountants and wealth advisers (see 2506230023), Baker Botts said in a client alert.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control last week labeled Venezuela-based Cartel de los Soles a Specially Designated Global Terrorist. OFAC said the cartel is a criminal group headed by Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, adding it "provides material support" to groups the U.S. has labeled foreign terrorist organizations, including Tren de Aragua and the Sinaloa Cartel.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control deleted a range of entries from its Specially Designated Nationals List last week that were originally sanctioned for their ties to Myanmar or North Korea. The delistings include KT Services & Logistics Company Limited and its CEO, Jonathan Myo Kyaw Thaung, a company OFAC sanctioned in 2022 for being controlled by the Myanmar military; Funsaga Pte Ltd., which also was sanctioned in 2022 for doing business with a North Korean-run animation studio; and Suntac Technologies, which was sanctioned in 2023 for ties to the Myanmar military. OFAC didn't release more information about why it removed those entries.