The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control issued a frequently asked question to address Congress’ inclusion of sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline in the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (see 1912190075), according to a Dec. 20 notice. In FAQ 815, OFAC clarified the wind-down provisions in the NDAA, which specify that all parties involved in selling, leasing or providing vessels for Nord Stream 2 or Turkstream must “immediately cease construction-related activity.” But OFAC said it may extend “good-faith wind-down exceptions” to certain parties for the safety of the pipeline, the crews and to avoid environmental damage.

The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control renewed a license authorizing certain transactions with COSCO Shipping Tanker (Dalian) Co. and amended three Iran-related frequently asked questions, OFAC said in a Dec. 19 notice. General License K-1, which replaced General License K, authorizes transactions relating to the maintenance or wind-down of dealings with the COSCO subsidiary until Feb. 4, 2020. The license was previously set to expire Dec. 20.

The State Department sanctioned Honduran congressman Oscar Ramon Najera due to “significant corruption,” according to a Dec. 20 press release. Najera allegedly benefited from the Honduran drug trafficking organization Los Cachiros, which was designated by the Treasury Department as a foreign narcotics trafficking group in 2013. The State Department also designated Najera’s son Oscar Roberto Najera Lopez.

The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned five people in Mali for threatening the country’s peace and obstructing humanitarian aid, Treasury said in a Dec. 20 press release. The United Nations Security Council also designated the five people, imposing asset freezes throughout UN member states, according to a Dec. 19 press release.

The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control designated a Guatemalan mayor, four Guatemalan nationals, five Guatemalan businesses and a drug trafficking organization as significant narcotics traffickers, Treasury said in a Dec. 19 press release. OFAC sanctioned Erik Salvador Suñiga Rodriguez, the Suñiga Rodriguez drug trafficking organization and various associates and family members of Rodriguez, including Wildin Tulio Jui Escobar, Juan Carlos Cruz Ovalle, Jose Juan Suñiga Rodriguez and Alex Oswaldo Parada Rodriguez. The sanctioned entities include Multiservicios y Finca El Encanto (an agricultural company), Rancho La Dorada (an agricultural company), Cevicheria La Concha (a restaurant), Star Market Melanye (a grocery store) and JC Car Audio (a car audio store), Treasury said. Treasury also released a chart related to the sanctions.

The U.S. extended sanctions related to global human rights abuses for one year, according to a Dec. 18 notice issued by the White House. Human rights violations “continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat” to the U.S. national and economic security, the notice said. The notice extends sanctions outlined in a 2017 executive order that provides authority for actions under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act.

The European Union’s Dec. 13 decision to renew Russian sanctions for six months (see 1912160009) will target Russia’s financial, energy and defense sectors and focus on the area of dual-use goods, according to a Dec. 19 press release from the European Council. Specifically, the sanctions are aimed at limiting access to EU primary and secondary capital markets for five “major” Russian state-owned financial institutions and their subsidiaries, as well as three Russian energy and three defense companies. The sanctions also impose an import and export ban on arms trade, establish an export ban for dual-use goods for military use or military end-users in Russia, and aim to curtail Russian access to “sensitive technologies and services” used for oil production and exploration, the press release said.

The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned two Iranian judges who have “punished” citizens for exercising freedoms of expression and assembly, Treasury said in a Dec. 19 press release. The sanctions target Abolghassem Salavati, who presides over Branch 15 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, and Mohammad Moghisseh, who presides over Branch 28.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau urged the country’s foreign affairs minister to build on its Magnitsky Law sanctions regime by ensuring seized assets from sanctioned parties are transferred to their victims, according to a Dec. 13 mandate letter. The measure will increase “support for victims of human rights violations” and will be conducted “with appropriate judicial oversight,” the letter said.

Turkey has failed to properly apply United Nations sanctions and designations, which are often subject to “long delays” and are not effectively enforced, the Financial Action Task Force said in a December report. The FATF said “no penalties or oversight exist for contravention” of certain UN sanctions in Turkey, and the country has been unable to provide “evidence” that it is making “good use” of tools that allow authorities to seize criminal assets and carry out sanctions enforcement. Turkey also has never imposed a terrorism-related designation, the report said.