The European Council added eight people and two entities to the European Union's Syrian sanctions list, according to a Feb. 17 notice. The sanctions target eight businessmen and two companies that contribute to Syria’s Assad regime, the council said.

Australia’s parliament recently published the submissions it has received from its inquiry into the use of a sanctions regime to target human rights abuses. Australia announced the inquiry Dec. 4 (see 1912050026). The country extended its submission deadlines and is now accepting submissions from Australia until March 2 and international submissions until March 23.

Venezuela said it is “not intimidated” by recent U.S. designations against its airline and plans to ignore the sanctions by more than doubling its international destinations, according to an unofficial translation of a Feb. 12 report from Venezolana de Television, a state-owned news outlet. Even before U.S. sanctions were announced against the Venezuelan airline and its fleet of more than 35 planes (see 2002070041), the country said it received warnings from other countries that they would no longer supply the fleet with fuel, the report said. But Venezuela said its planes can fly up to 14 hours “without needing to be supplied at another airport that is not in national territory.” The report added that the country is working on manufacturing “the first aircraft on Venezuelan soil” and wants to add hundreds of planes.

Ukraine recently revoked all of its special economic sanctions imposed by the country’s Department of Economy, Trade and Agriculture before Feb. 7, according to a Feb. 7 post from Baker McKenzie, referencing a notice from Ukraine. The move, which will lift sanctions on about 27,000 companies, will take effect March 6, the post said. The sanctions removals do not affect sanctions issued by Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council.

The United Kingdom’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation amended its entry for Seka Baluku under designations related to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, according to a Feb. 13 notice. Baluku, leader of the Allied Democratic Forces, a Uganda-based terrorist organization, is still subject to an asset freeze. He was sanctioned by the U.K. and the United Nations Security Council earlier this month (see 2002070010).

The United Kingdom’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation renewed the designations for three entries under its terrorist asset-freezing regime, according to a Feb. 12 notice. The entries are: Hazan Izz-Al-Din, Abdelkarim Al-Nasser and Ibrahim Al-Yacoub.

There are “significant gaps” in private sector knowledge on North Korea and Iran sanctions compliance and implementation, according to a Feb. 6 report by the Royal United Services Institute and the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists. The report, based on more than 350 responses to a survey sent to the finance industry, shows that large, international banks have a greater grasp of sanctions compliance than local and national banks, which are more often “being exploited” by proliferators. The report also said that U.S. banks are most vulnerable to proliferation risks from Iran and that “few banks” consult the United Nations Panel of Experts reports on North Korea.

The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control removed more than 30 terrorism-related entries from its Specially Designated Nationals List, according to a Feb. 12 notice. The entries include entities relating to Al-Barakat, which was sanctioned by OFAC in 2001. Treasury did not immediately release more information.

President Donald Trump withdrew the nomination for Jessie Liu to serve as the Treasury Department’s next undersecretary for terrorism and financial crimes, according to a Feb. 11 Axios report. Liu, whose nomination was announced by the White House in December (see 1912110078), would have filled a key sanctions role within the agency after the resignation of former undersecretary Sigal Mandelker in October (see 1910020061). Liu’s Senate confirmation hearing had been scheduled for Feb. 13. The White House and the Treasury did not comment.

North Korea continued to violate United Nations Security Council sanctions in 2019 with the help of China, according to a Feb. 10 Reuters report. North Korea continued improving its missile programs, imported refined petroleum and exported about $370 million worth of coal using Chinese barges, Reuters said, referencing a not-yet-released UN report expected to be issued next month. Most of North Korea’s illegal coal exports were conducted through ship-to-ship transfers from North Korean vessels to Chinese barges, the report said, which delivered the coal directly to ports in China’s Hangzhou Bay and facilities along the Yangtze River.