The United Kingdom’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation on July 28 issued a correction for five entries under its Yemen sanctions regime. The change corrects identifying information for Abdullah Yahya al Hakim, Abd al-Khaliq al-Houthi, Abdulmalik al-Houthi, Ali Abdullah Saleh and Ahmed Ali Abdullah Saleh.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned two “financial facilitators” for the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria for helping to fund terrorism, OFAC said July 28. The designations target Faruq Hamud in Syria and ‘Adnan Amin Muhammad al-Rawi in Turkey.
Two European Parliament members urged the European Union to “swiftly” impose sanctions on China for human rights violations in Hong Kong and against Muslim minority groups. In a July 23 letter, MEPs Hilde Vautmans of Belgium and Katalin Cseh of Hungary called on EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell to more quickly create a human rights sanctions regime and provide a time table for the imposition of sanctions. Vautmans and Cseh said the EU should sanction Chinese leaders involved in infringing on Hong Kong’s autonomy and the mass detention of Uighurs. “We urge you to make progress with the drafting of the proposal,” Vautmans and Cseh said. Borrell said in December the EU was preparing a Magnitsky Act-style human rights sanctions regime (see 1912100046), and Parliament members have previously asked the EU to move faster (see 2004020016).
The U.S. extended for one year a national emergency that authorizes sanctions against people and entities engaged in terrorist activities, drug trafficking and other actions in Mali, the White House said July 23. The White House said activities in Mali continue to “pose an unusual and extraordinary threat” to the U.S. The extension is through July 26, 2021.
The United Kingdom’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation on July 23 revised an entry under its ISIL (Da’esh) and al-Qaida sanctions regime. The entry is for Noor Wali Mehsud, the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan leader sanctioned by the U.K. July 16 (see 2007170017). Mehsud remains subject to an asset freeze.
Forty-three countries accused North Korea of violating a United Nations cap on refined petroleum imports and asked the U.N. to end all oil shipments to North Korea until year-end, Reuters reported July 24. The countries -- including the U.S., the United Kingdom and France -- told the U.N. that North Korea used illegal ship-to-ship transfers to import more than 1.6 million barrels of petroleum January through May. The countries asked the U.N. Security Council to issue a determination that North Korea has surpassed its annual cap of 500,000 barrels and to “inform member states that they must immediately cease selling, supplying, or transferring refined petroleum products to [North Korea] for the remainder of the year,” the report said.
The White House extended for one year beyond July 24 a national emergency that authorizes sanctions against people and entities associated with transnational criminal organizations, a July 22 news release said.
The United Kingdom on July 22 issued two orders to implement its global human rights sanctions regime for its overseas territories and the Isle of Man. The orders detail U.K. sanctions authorities and extend the regime to cover 12 overseas territories, including the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands and Anguilla. The U.K. announced the regime earlier this month with a set of sanctions against 49 people and entities for human rights abuses, marking the first time the U.K. has issued its own designations for human rights violations (see 2007060025).
The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned two associates of the Nicolas Maduro family for supporting corruption, the agency said July 23. OFAC designated brothers Santiago Jose Moron Hernandez and Ricardo Jose Moron Hernandez, who are “trusted partners” of Maduro and his son and who help “distribute assets” for the Maduro family around the world. Both brothers also use companies to conduct transactions on behalf of the Maduro family, OFAC said.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on July 22 revised nine FAQs to reflect changes made to two Ukraine-related general licenses involving Russian automotive conglomerate GAZ Group issued earlier this month (see 2007160044). The FAQs clarify the authorizations in the licenses and update their language to reflect new expiration dates.