The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned two entities involved in the “exportation of forced labor” from North Korea, according to a Nov. 19 press release. The designations target Mokran LLC, a Russian construction company, and Korea Cholsan General Trading Corporation, a North Korean company operating in Russia, for exporting forced labor to generate revenue for the North Korean government, OFAC said.
Twenty-one United Kingdom parliamentarians urged their government to impose sanctions on Chinese entities and people responsible for human rights violations in China’s Xinjiang region, following similar moves by the U.S. The members, part of the U.K.’s Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, urged Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab to sanction the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, the Xinjiang Public Security Bureau, and Chinese officials Chen Quanguo, Zhu Hailun, Sun Jinlong, Peng Jiarui, Wang Mingshan and Huo Liujun, all sanctioned by the U.S. earlier this year (see 2007090024 and 2007310028).
The U.S. sanctioned more than 50 people and entities for being part of a “key patronage network” for Iran’s supreme leader, the Treasury Department said in a Nov. 18 news release. The agency also sanctioned Iranian Minister of Intelligence and Security Mahmoud Alavi for human rights abuses. In total, Treasury sanctioned one vessel, nine people and more than 40 entities.
The United Kingdom’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation on Nov. 16 removed sanctions from Neda Industrial Group to align with the European Union, which lifted the designation last week (see 2011160010). The U.K. said Neda Industrial Group is an “industrial automation company” that has worked for Kalaye Electric Company at the uranium fuel enrichment plant in Natanz, Iran. Kalaye has been involved in centrifuge component production.
Russia will impose retaliatory sanctions against Germany and France for European Union designations of six Russian officials and one Russian entity in October, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said Nov. 12. The ministry said it will target senior officials in Germany's and France's “executive offices” who helped lead the EU’s effort to sanction Russia for the poisoning of Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny (see 2010080013 and 2010150008).
The Office of Foreign Assets Control renewed a general license authorizing transactions between certain companies and Petroleos de Venezuela, OFAC said Nov. 17. General License No. 8G, which replaces No. 8F (see 2004220009), authorizes transactions between PdVSA and Chevron, Halliburton, Schlumberger, Baker Hughes and Weatherford International, with certain restrictions, through 12:01 a.m. EDT June 3, 2021. The license was scheduled to expire Dec. 1.
The U.S. sanctioned two senior leaders of al-Shabaab, a Somalia terrorist group and al-Qaida affiliate, the State Department said Nov. 17. The designations target Abdullahi Osman Mohamed, the group’s senior explosives expert, and Maalim Ayman, the leader of an al-Shabaab unit that conducts terrorist attacks in Kenya and Somalia.
Airbnb may have violated U.S. sanctions laws and submitted a voluntary self-disclosure to the Office of Foreign Assets Control in September, the company said in a Nov. 16 Securities and Exchange Commission filing. Airbnb said it began an internal review in 2019 and has been cooperating with OFAC “regarding certain user activity on our platform” that was “inconsistent with our policies” and U.S. sanctions laws. The company said those activities involved Ukraine's Crimea region, Cuba and certain OFAC specially designated nationals.
The United Nations Security Council extended the mandate for the Panel of Experts on Somalia until Dec. 15, 2021, and renewed the “partial lifting” of the arms embargo on the country's security forces, the UNSC said Nov. 12. The arms embargo exempts deliveries of arms, technical advice, financial assistance or training intended for Somali security forces, and prohibits the resale or making available to outside entities of weapons and military equipment “supplied to the Somali National Security Forces or Somali security sector institutions.” The UNSC also condemned exports of charcoal from Somalia, which are banned, as “illicit flows that may finance terrorist activities.” It also cautioned against transactions that might involve “direct or indirect sale or transfer of items that could be used in manufacturing ... [improvised explosive] devices” used in the escalating number of attacks undertaken by Al‑Shabaab, the East African terrorist fundamentalist group.
The United Kingdom’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation issued a financial sanctions guidance for charities on Nov. 13. The agency stressed that charitable organizations are responsible for complying with sanctions, applying for licenses and reporting “suspected breaches of financial sanctions to OFSI at the earliest opportunity.”