The U.S. extended national emergencies authorizing sanctions against Hong Kong and transnational criminal organizations, the White House said July 7. The White House said actions taken by Beijing to “fundamentally undermine” Hong Kong’s autonomy and activities by transnational criminal groups continue to “pose an unusual and extraordinary threat” to U.S. national security and foreign policy. The emergencies were renewed for one year, from July 14 and July 24, 2021, respectively.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control issued a July 6 reminder to industry to file annual reports on blocked property by Sept. 30. The notice applies to blocked property held as of June 30. It includes a link to the blocked property report spreadsheet and guidance on filing the reports.

The Biden administration is “nearly’ complete with its ongoing sanctions review and expects to put the results out “near the end of the summer,” The Wall Street Journal reported July 5. The review is part of a broader administration effort to move toward multilateral, calibrated measures instead of sweeping, unilateral pressure campaigns, the report said. The White House didn’t comment.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control officially released its Russian Harmful Foreign Activities Sanctions Directive July 7, outlining restrictions against the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, the National Wealth Fund of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation. The directive, issued by OFAC in April (see 2104150019), was part of a broad sanctions package to penalize Russian human rights violations, corruption and election interference activities.

The Financial Action Task Force released an updated list of countries for June that are working with FATF to “address strategic deficiencies” in their ability to counter money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation financing. The list includes updated statements for 15 countries that have “had their progress reviewed” by the FATF since February.

The United Kingdom's Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation in a June 30 blog post sought to clarify the term “reasonableness in licensing.” When deciding to unfreeze funds subject to sanctions for the payment of professional fees and expenses for legal services, OFSI must consider that those fees are “reasonable.”

The Office of Foreign Assets Control will officially remove the International Criminal Court-Related Sanctions Regulations from the Code of Federal Regulations, OFAC said in a notice. The sanctions were originally imposed under the Trump administration but sparked opposition from human rights advocates. President Joe Biden revoked them in April (see 2104020046). The removal takes effect July 6.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control on July 2 sanctioned 22 people connected to Myanmar’s military regime. The designations include seven “key members” of the military and 15 of their spouses and adult children. “Today’s action demonstrates that the United States will continue to impose increasing costs on Burma’s military and promote accountability for those responsible for the military coup and ongoing violence, including by targeting sources of revenue for the military and its leaders,” OFAC Director Andrea Gacki said in a statement.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control on July 2 removed four entries from its Specially Designated Nationals List. The entries were designated under Iran and nonproliferation sanctions. OFAC didn't immediately provide more information on the removals.

The United Nations Security Council and the United Kingdom removed sanctions from an Iraqi entity this week. The designation targeted Iraq’s State Contracting Water and Sewage Projects Company.