The U.S. added seven entities to the Cuba Restricted List for supporting the “Castro dictatorship,” the State Department said June 3. The military-owned entities include three hotels, two scuba diving centers, one financial institution and one marine park for tourists. The designated entities are: Hotel Marqués de Cardenas de Montehermoso, Hotel Regis, Hotel Playa Paraiso, FINCIMEX, the Varadero Diving Center, the Gaviota Las Molas International Diving Center and the Cayo Naranjo Dolphinarium. The additions will take effect June 12.
President Donald Trump’s June 2 executive order to support international religious freedom authorizes the Treasury Department to impose sanctions on countries violating those freedoms. The order directs the Treasury secretary to recommend “the use of economic tools to advance” religious freedom in “countries of particular concern.” Those tools include the use of sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, the order said.
The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control announced regulations to implement an October executive order authorizing certain Syria-related sanctions, OFAC said in a June 4 notice. The notice includes detailed descriptions of the regulations, including transactions that are blocked, definitions, licensing procedures and penalties for violations. OFAC said it plans to release a “more comprehensive” set of regulations, including potential guidance documents and general licenses. The regulations take effect June 5.
A Singapore electronics manufacturer voluntarily disclosed to the Treasury Department possible U.S. sanctions violations, the company said in a May 28 Securities and Exchange Commission filing. The company, Flex Ltd., said the violations may have been committed by its non-U.S. affiliates and that it is conducting an internal investigation, expected to be completed “by the end of the second quarter of fiscal year 2021,” so it cannot estimate possible penalties.
The United Kingdom’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation removed and amended designations on its Syria sanctions list, according to a June 1 notice. The notice removes sanctions from four entries: Maen Rizk Allah Haykal, Jamea Jamea, Hayan Kaddour and Developers Private Joint Stock Company. The notice also amends an entry for Qasem Soleimani, who is still subject to an asset freeze.
The United Kingdom’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation amended an entry for Martin Koumtamadji, the leader of an anti-government militia in the Central African Republic, according to a June 1 notice. Koumtamadji, who was also sanctioned by the United Nations Security Council (see 2005060021), is still subject to an asset freeze.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned four companies and four vessels for operating in Venezuela's oil sector, according to a June 2 press release. The designated entities include Marshall Islands-based Afranav Maritime Ltd., owner of the Panamanian-flagged Athens Voyager; Greece-based Seacomber Ltd., owner of the Maltese flagged Chios I; Marshall Islands-based Adamant Maritime Ltd., owner of Bahamian-flagged Seahero; and Marshall Islands-based Sanibel Shiptrade Ltd., owner of the Marshall Islands-flagged Voyager I.
The United Nations Security Council renewed its arms embargo and sanctions against South Sudan, the UN said May 29. The measures are extended until July 1, 2021. The European Union had urged the UN to renew the embargo (see 2005040018). The U.S. renewed sanctions against the country in April (see 2004020018).
The State Department announced sanctions on Amir Zukic, a former member of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s House of Representatives, according to a May 28 press release. Zukic was designated for corruption that undermined the rule of law.
The European Council extended European Union sanctions against Syria for one year, until June 1, 2021, according to a May 28 press release. The sanctions will continue to target members of the Syrian regime, their supporters, and businesspeople who aid the “suffering” of the Syrian people, European Commission Vice President Josep Borrell said in a statement. The council also removed sanctions from two people and one company that “halted their sanctionable behavior,” along with two additional deceased persons.