The Department of Justice seized three websites used by three front companies that allegedly tried to illegally ship Iranian oil to Venezuela, DOJ said in an Aug. 28 news release. The websites belong to Mobin International, Sohar Fuel and Oman Fuel, which arranged for a multibillion-dollar fuel shipment by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, DOJ alleged. The U.S. seized the shipment, including the oil aboard four tankers, last month (see 2008140021).
Industry members should be aware of the “key North Korean procurement entities and deceptive techniques employed in the operation and support of the regime’s ballistic missile program,” the Office of Foreign Assets Control, the Bureau of Industry and Security and the State Department Bureau of International Security said in a guidance document. The procurement activities “expose the electronics, chemical, metals, and materials industries as well as the financial, transportation, and logistics sectors to the risk of possibly violating United Nations (UN) and U.S. sanctions, as well as the imposition of sanctions and penalties under various U.S. legal authorities,” they said.
HSBC is maintaining bank accounts for individuals subject to U.S. sanctions on China while blocking credit card and account access of pro-democracy advocates, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in an Aug 26 statement. HSBC is maintaining relationships with people sanctioned for “denying freedom for Hong Kongers,” Pompeo said, while restricting account access for Hong Kong-based executives at Next Media, a “well-known publisher of pro-democracy publications.”
Curtiss-Wright, a U.S. manufacturer, may have violated U.S. sanctions on Russia when it continued to do business with two customers after they were acquired by a sanctioned entity, the company said in an Aug. 19 Securities and Exchange Commission filing. The company said the two customers, “unbeknown” to Curtiss-Wright, were acquired in 2019 by an entity subject to OFAC’s Ukraine-related sanctions. “Change of ownership resulted in beneficial ownership sanctions now capturing our two long-time customers,” the company said.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Aug. 25 sanctioned a Chinese national and his company for shipping fentanyl to the U.S., and removed sanctions from a Honduran money laundering ring. The Chinese sanctions target Taotao Zhang and his company, Hong Kong-based Allyrise Technology Group Co., Limited, for shipping fentanyl to the U.S. through freight forwarding services and other means to disguise their origin. OFAC also removed sanctions from Jaime Rolando Rosenthal Oliva, who is now deceased, and five associated companies and other entities involved in Rosenthal's money laundering scheme, which have been seized by Honduran authorities.
Russia recently introduced a bill to revise regulations for its sanctions regimes and its countermeasures against U.S. sanctions, an Aug. 21 EU Sanctions blog post said. Among other changes, the bill would expand the scope of sanctions to apply to entities owned or controlled 25% or more by a sanctioned person or entity. The bill would also impose reporting requirements for financial institutions on measures they are taking to implement sanctions, and create a new penalty that would suspend or revoke a financial institution's license “in the event of repeated sanctions violations,” the post said.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo officially initiated a United Nations process to reimpose sanctions under the Iran nuclear deal after failing to convince the U.N. to extend an Iranian arms embargo (see 2008170017 and 2008190036). Pompeo said other U.N. members privately wanted the arms embargo extended but did not stand publicly with the U.S.
The Treasury and State departments on Aug. 20 sanctioned six members of the Syrian government and military to further pressure the Bashar Al-Assad regime. Treasury’s sanctions target Luna Al Shibl, a senior adviser and press officer for Assad, and Mohamad Ammar Saati bin Mohamad Nawzad, a longtime leader within the Syrian Ba’ath Party who has served in high-ranking government positions. The State Department sanctioned Yasser Ibrahim, an Assad supporter; Fadi Saqr, a Syrian National Defense Forces commander; Ghaith Dalah, an NDF brigadier general; and Samer Ismail, a regiment commander.
The United Nations Security Council Committee revised entries for two people and three entities on its Democratic Republic of the Congo Sanctions List, it said Aug. 19. The changes add identifying information, including addresses and personal details.
The Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned two United Arab Emirates-based companies and a business owner for supporting sanctioned Iranian airline Mahan Air, an Aug. 19 news release said. The designations target Parthia Cargo, Delta Parts Supply FZC and Iranian national Amin Mahdavi, who owns Parthia Cargo. OFAC said the companies provided “key parts and logistics services” that help Mahan Air sustain its fleet of “western manufactured aircraft.” The parts and services also help the airline transport terrorists, “lethal cargo” and technical equipment to Syria and Venezuela.