The United Kingdom’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation submitted its quarterly report to Parliament on its asset-freezing regime, OFSI said May 19. The report provides details of U.K. sanctions actions from October through December, including data on total funds frozen, new designations, delistings, renewals, licensing and more.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned Iranian officials and a group controlled by the country’s law enforcement authority for human rights abuses, Treasury said May 20. The designations target Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli, Iran’s interior minister, seven senior officials of Iran’s Law Enforcement Forces and a commander in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The sanctions also target the LEF Cooperative Foundation -- an “economic collaborative” controlled by the LEF -- along with its director and board of trustees.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned China-based Shanghai Saint Logistics Limited for acting as a general sales agent for Mahan Air (see 1912050032), the U.S.-designated Iranian airline, according to a May 19 press release. The designation of Shanghai Saint Logistics is the seventh designation of a general sales agent to Mahan Air since 2018, OFAC said. The company provides freight booking and other services for Mahan Air flights. “We will not hesitate to target those entities that continue to maintain commercial relationships with Mahan Air,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement.
The State Department added Cuba to a list of countries that do not cooperate with U.S. counterterrorism efforts and the Arms Export Control Act, adding that it will block sales or licenses involving exports of defense goods to Cuba, the agency said May 13. This year marked the first time the U.S. recognized Cuba as not cooperating with the AECA since 2015, the agency said. Others on the list include Iran, North Korea, Syria and Venezuela.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control updated 490 North Korea-related entries on its Specially Designated Nationals List, according to a May 13 notice. The update stems from the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act, which modified the North Korea Sanctions and Policy Enhancement Act to block foreign subsidiaries of U.S. financial institutions “from knowingly engaging in transactions with” SDNs “that have been designated under North Korea-related authorities,” OFAC said. OFAC introduced a “descriptive text” to “clarify to the private sector what SDNs have this prohibition” and added the descriptive text to the SDN entries.
Nynas AB, a joint venture between biofuel producer Neste and Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A., is no longer designated by the Treasury Department after a “corporate restructuring” by the company, Nynas said May 12. The company’s restructuring “severs control by blocked persons and reduces the interest of blocked persons below 50 percent,” the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control said in a May 12 notice in which it announced it was revoking a general license for Nynas (see 2005120028). OFAC clarified that U.S. companies and people no longer need an authorization to deal with Nynas “provided such activities do not involve blocked persons.”
A U.S. information management company may have violated U.S. sanctions against Iran, the company said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing released May 7. Iron Mountain, which provides information and data storage services, said its foreign subsidiary provided services to an Iranian government entity and another entity designated for weapons proliferation. Iron Mountain said the subsidiary provided “limited” record storage, container storage and handling services for both entities, which are both located outside of Iran. In both cases, the services began “at a time when U.S. sanctions law did not limit” the dealings, Iron Mountain said. The company’s gross revenues from providing services to both companies totaled about $300,000, Iron Mountain said, adding that “it is not possible to determine the exact amount of profits attributable to these services.”
The United Nations Security Council amended a Singapore-related entry on its sanctions list, according to a May 11 notice. The update amends identifying information for Yuk Tung Energy, a commercial ship manager for the tanker Yuk Tung, “which conducted ship-to-ship transfer of refined petroleum product,” the UNSC said.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control revoked Venezuela General License 13E, which authorized certain transactions involving Nynas AB, a joint venture between biofuel producer Neste and Petroleos de Venezuela, according to a May 12 notice. The license was scheduled to expire May 14 (see 2004030043). OFAC also updated General Licenses 3H and 9G to remove references to Nynas AB. The agency also made “conforming technical updates” to two frequently asked questions to reflect the revocation of the license.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control issued several “administrative updates” to certain Specially Designated Nationals List records, according to a May 7 notice. The updates “reclassified certain aliases as weak.” The notice contains the unique identification numbers (UIDs) for each of the affected SDN entries.