The Office of Foreign Assets Control published two previously issued general licenses under its Russian Harmful Foreign Activities Sanctions Regulations. The full text of each license is available in the notice.
The U.S., the U.K. and the EU have seen a recent uptick in sanctioning people involved in organized crime, especially the U.S., which has “far and away sanctioned the greatest number of criminal actors,” the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime said in a new report this month. But the nongovernmental organization said countries tend to impose these measures as part of a country-focused sanctions regime, which is a mistake because of the “highly fluid nature of modern illicit markets.” Focusing on traffickers and smugglers in one country, for instance, has a “displacement effect” and drives those actors to instead continue their illegal operations in “areas where they may fall outside the parameters of a sanctions regime.”
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned two entities and one person for “undermining the peace, security, and stability” of Sudan.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned two people and five entities based in Iran, China, Hong Kong, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates for their involvement in procuring sensitive parts for Iran unmanned aerial vehicle program. OFAC said the network has specifically facilitated shipments and financial transactions for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Aerospace Force Self Sufficiency Jihad Organization’s procurement of servomotors, a “critical component” used in Iran’s Shahed-series UAVs. The agency said Iran has been supplying the Shahed-136 UAVs to Russia for its war in Ukraine.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week deleted four entries from its Specially Designated Nationals List and updated six others. The entries are linked to either Russia or Myanmar. One entry, Russia-based Joint Stock Company Star, had been listed on the SDN List under two separate sanctions authorities, and the agency's move this week merged those two listings together, an OFAC spokesperson said Sept. 27. The agency didn't provide more information on why it deleted the other entries.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned 10 people, nine of which are “Sinaloa Cartel affiliates and fugitives” responsible for “fentanyl and other illicit drug trafficking,” the Treasury Department said in a Sept. 26 news release. Those nine people are Jorge Humberto Figueroa Benitez, Leobardo Garcia Corrales, Martin Garcia Corrales, Liborio Nunez Aguirre, Samuel Leon Alvarado, Carlos Mario Limon Vazquez, Jimenez Castro, Dominguez Hernandez, and Vibanco Garcia. The tenth sanctioned person is Jobanis de Jesus Avila Villadiego, a Colombian national and leader of the Clan del Golfo, which supplies cocaine to major drug trafficking organizations, including the Sinaloa Cartel.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control last week issued a reminder to industry to file annual reports on blocked property by Sept. 30. The notice applies to blocked property held as of June 30.
Canada this week announced another round of sanctions against members of the Haitian economic elite for contributing to violence and corruption in the country. The designations target businessmen Marc Antoine Acra, Carl Braun and Jean Marie Vorbe. “We continue to call on the international community to join Canada in putting pressure on those who directly contribute to the ongoing violence and instability in Haiti,” said Melanie Joly, Canada’s foreign affairs minister. Canada has previously sanctioned people in Haiti who it said have enabled the activity of armed criminal gangs (see 2301130019, 2212200016, 2212060008, 2211210026 and 2211040064).
The Office of Foreign Assets Control reached a $31,867.90 settlement with New York-based Emigrant Bank this week after it allegedly violated U.S. sanctions on Iran by maintaining an account for two Iranian residents. OFAC said the bank maintained a certificate of deposit (CD) account for the two people for about 26 years, and processed 30 transactions between June 2017 and March 2021 worth about $91,000.
DOJ is seeking to expand an authority that allows it to use seized Russian assets to assist with Ukraine’s reconstruction efforts. Attorney General Merrick Garland, speaking before the House Judiciary Committee Sept. 20, said in written remarks prepared for the hearing that DOJ can use the authority, included as part of the FY 2023 government spending package, to transfer certain forfeited property to the State Department “to remediate the harms of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.” But the administration can’t use that authority for forfeited Russian assets connected to Moscow’s 2014 annexation of Crimea or related to assets forfeited for violations of certain export controls.