The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Sept. 30 sanctioned a Cuban national for helping his country’s government oppress Cubans and Venezuelans. The designations targeted Luis Alberto Rodriguez Lopez-Calleja, the head of the Cuban military-owned conglomerate Grupo de Administracion Empresarial S.A., the State Department said. Funds generated from the conglomerate are used to “oppress the Cuban people and to fund Cuba’s parasitic, colonial domination of Venezuela,” the State Department said.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control fined a New York travel services company nearly $5.9 million for violating U.S. sanctions against Cuba, OFAC said in an Oct. 1 notice. The company, Generali Global Assistance, Inc. (GGA), used a Canadian affiliate to evade U.S. sanctions, OFAC said.
The United Kingdom and Canada on Sept. 29 imposed sanctions on Belarusian officials (see 2009250010) for human rights violations related to the country’s rigged elections. The U.K. sanctioned eight officials and Canada listed 11. Both lists include Aleksandr Lukashenko, who claimed victory in the recent presidential election.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control amended its Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferators Sanctions Regulations and its Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations, the agency said in a notice released Sept. 30. The final rule revises a note that describes how people designated under the WMD regulations for North Korea are identified in OFAC’s Specially Designated Nationals List and amends the ITSR to “refine” a general license. The rule is effective on Oct. 1.
The U.S. sanctioned 20 people and entities for supporting Syria’s Bashar al-Assad regime and issued a new general license and frequently asked question. The sanctions, announced by the Office of Foreign Assets Control and the State Department Sept. 30, target Assad regime officials, military officials, financiers and their businesses.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control released regulations Sept. 30 to implement a June executive order (see 2006110028) authorizing sanctions against the International Criminal Court. OFAC released the regulations in a final rule effective Oct. 1 in “abbreviated form” to provide “immediate guidance to the public.” The agency said it plans to soon publish a more “comprehensive set of regulations,” which may include guidance on definitions, general licenses and information on licensing policy.
The U.S. sanctioned two Iranian officials and four entities for human rights violations, the State Department said Sept. 24. The designations target Iranian Judges Seyyed Mahmoud Sadati and Mohammad Soltani for sentencing people on “dubious charges” related to freedom of speech. Also designated are the Shiraz Revolutionary Court's Branch 1 and the Adel Abad, Orumiyeh and Vakilabad prisons.
The United Kingdom is working with the European Union, the U.S. and Canada to impose sanctions on those responsible for the rigged elections in Belarus (see 2001150022), U.K. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said Sept. 24. Raab said he has directed the U.K.’s sanctions team to prepare Magnitsky human rights sanctions and will coordinate listings with the U.S. and Canada. If Belarusian officials do not “respond” to the sanctions, Raab said the U.K. will consider “further actions with our international partners.”
The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned 15 people and entities for supporting Russian government operative Yevgeniy Prigozhin and the Russian Federal Security Service, OFAC said Sept. 23. The designations are designed to increase pressure on Prigozhin, who runs and finances the Internet Research Agency, a Russian troll farm that was sanctioned by OFAC in 2018.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Sept. 22 issued another reminder (see 2007010042) to industry to file annual reports on blocked property by Sept. 30. The notice applies to blocked property held as of June 30. The notice includes a link to the blocked property report spreadsheet and guidance on filing the reports.