The Treasury Department last week sanctioned Haitian gangs Viv Ansanm and Gran Grif, and the State Department designated them as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and Specially Designated Global Terrorists. The State Department called the gangs a "direct threat to U.S. national security interests in our region," saying they have killed and attacked Haitian residents and security forces and are "committed to overthrowing the government of Haiti."
The U.K. on May 1 amended one entry under its Russia sanctions regime, the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation announced. OFSI updated the listing of Albert Shigabutdinov to reflect that he's a director of the TAIF Group, a firm operating in the Russian energy, financial services and communications sectors.
China has informed the EU that it has lifted sanctions against certain European Parliament lawmakers, the Parliament said April 30. The sanctions, imposed by Beijing in March 2021, targeted five Parliament members and the body’s Subcommittee on Human Rights. Roberta Metsola, Parliament president, said EU committees “must be able to discuss European interests with their Chinese counterparts without fear of repercussions,” adding that the best way to approach China is “through engagement and dialogue.”
President Donald Trump on May 1 threatened to impose secondary sanctions against any country or person buying "any amount" of oil or petrochemical products from Iran. Those nations or people "will not be allowed to do business with the United States of America in any way, shape, or form," he said on Truth Social. The Treasury Department has published several rounds of sanctions in recent months against people and companies, including shipowners and their vessels, involved in moving or buying Iranian oil (see 2504280013, 2504100048, 2503130021 and 2502240019).
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned three people and two entities in Mexico for their ties to a drug trafficking and fuel theft network linked to the Mexico-based Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacion. The Treasury Department also published a new alert with red flags that could signal a company is using a U.S. bank as part of a fuel smuggling scheme on the U.S. southwest border.
The Council of the EU on April 28 extended the sanctions on Moldova for one year, pushing them to an April 29, 2026, expiration date. The restrictions currently apply to 16 people and two entities and were imposed on those seeking to destabilize, undermine or threaten the "sovereignty and independence of" Moldova.
The State Department this week sanctioned multiple entities and ships moving Iranian petroleum products and petrochemical products, including four sellers and one buyer of hundreds of millions of dollars worth of Iranian energy.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned six entities and six people based in Iran and China for their ties to a network that buys ballistic missile propellant ingredients for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. OFAC said the network has specifically provided Iran with sodium perchlorate, which is used to produce ammonium perchlorate, a substance subject to export controls by the multilateral Missile Technology Control Regime. The network has also supplied Iran with dioctyl sebacate, a chemical used in ballistic missiles.
Copa Holdings, the parent company of Latin American airlines Copa Airlines and Wingo, recently disclosed to the U.S. government that it may have violated U.S. sanctions against Cuba.
The U.K. issued a new version of a Russia-related legal services general license to reset the cap on fees that can be paid to British law firms by parties subject to Russia-related sanctions. The legal fees cap is set at about $2.68 million (or 2 million pounds) per law firm and the expenses cap at 10% of the legal fees, up to about $268,000 (or 200,000 pounds), for the duration of the license. The license takes effect April 29 and expires Oct. 28. The previous license expired April 28 (see 2410290017).