The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned three Lebanon-based officials and 12 Lebanon-based entities linked to the Martyrs Foundation, which is part of Hizballah’s support network, Treasury said in a Feb. 26 press release. The designations include Atlas Holding, a company owned by the Martyrs Foundation, senior Atlas official Kassem Mohamad Ali Bazzi and 10 Atlas-affiliated companies, Treasury said. The companies operate in Lebanon’s fuel, pharmaceuticals, tourism and clothing sectors.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control added Ahmad Al-Hamidawi to its Specially Designated Nationals List, according to a Feb. 26 notice. OFAC did not immediately release more information on the designation.
The State Department announced sanctions on 13 entities and people based in China, Iraq, Russia and Turkey under the Iran, North Korea, and Syria Nonproliferation Act, the agency said in a Feb. 25 news release. The sanctions target people and companies that support Iran’s missile program. The State Department said the designations are “two-year discretionary sanctions” and block all U.S. government procurement, government assistance and exports related to the people and companies.
The Red Cross was granted a sanctions waiver by the United Nations to supply virus-fighting goods to North Korea to combat the coronavirus epidemic, according to a Feb. 24 news release from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. The Red Cross said the UN granted the waiver with “speed and urgent attention given,” which will allow the country to import certain humanitarian supplies.
The Financial Action Task Force said Iran has not addressed its “deficiencies” in its anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism financing controls and urged members to “apply effective counter-measures” against the country, according to a Feb. 21 FATF press release. Countermeasures include greater due diligence when doing business with Iran, including greater “supervisory examination” of subsidiaries within the country and “increased external audit requirements.” The FATF said Iran has failed to address a host of terrorism and money-laundering concerns, including “adequately criminalizing terrorist financing,” freezing terrorist assets in line with United Nations Security Council resolutions and verifying wire transfers.
The U.S. renewed sanctions against Libya under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, according to a Feb. 20 White House notice. The sanctions, first imposed Feb. 25, 2011, were renewed through Feb. 25, 2021, due to the continued threat to U.S. national security by the Libyan government, the notice said.
Rosneft criticized recent U.S. sanctions against its subsidiary (see 2002180033), saying the measures were illegal and it is considering “legal protection,” according to a Feb. 18 notice. The company said its subsidiary, Rosneft Trading S.A., has “been implementing its projects in Venezuela in strict compliance with rules of international and national laws.” Rosneft also said it was a “major investor” in Venezuela “long before” U.S. sanctions were introduced, and its contracts were signed before U.S. sanctions were imposed. It also said the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control has “not provided any evidence” of Rosneft’s illegal activities. “The sanctions against RTSA are arbitrary and selective, as other international companies, including American ones, carry out similar activities in Venezuela, and the U.S. regulator does not claim them,” the company said.
The United Nations Security Council removed two entries from its ISIL (Da’esh) and al-Qaida Sanctions List after receiving delisting requests, the UNSC said in a Feb. 18 notice. Asset freezes and an arms embargo will no longer apply to Al-Mokhtar Ben Mohamed Ban Al-Mokhtar Bouchoucha and Imad Ben Bechir Ben Hamda Al-Jammali.
The United Kingdom’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation issued a Feb. 20 correction relating to a previous sanctions notice. The OFSI said it provided “inaccurate identifying information” in a Feb. 19 notice about Abdul Haq, who is listed on the ISIL (Da’esh) and al-Qaida Sanctions List. OFSI clarified that Haq is still subject to an asset freeze and corrected the error in an update to the list.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control designated five members of Iran’s Guardian Council and its Elections Supervision Committee for interfering with free and fair elections, Treasury said in a Feb. 20 notice. The members are Ahmad Jannati, the secretary of the Guardian Council; Mohammad Yazdi, a member of Iran’s Guardian Council who was formerly Iran’s first judiciary chief; and three members of the Elections Supervisory Committee: Abbas Ali Kadkhodaei, Siamak Rahpeyk and Mohammad Hasan Sadeghi Moghadam.