The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned eight people and on entity related to Russian interference in Ukraine, Treasury said in a Jan. 29 press release. The sanctions target Yuri Gotsanyuk, Mikhail Razvozhaev, Vladimir Nemtsev, Sergei Danilenko, Lidia Basova, Ekaterina Pyrkova, Ekaterina Altabaeva, Alexander Ganov and the Grand Service Express, a Moscow railway company that offers transportation between Russia and Crimea. The sanctions were coordinated with Canada, Treasury said, which announced similar sanctions Jan. 29. The European Union Council sanctioned seven of the eight people Jan. 28 (see 2001280047).
The European Union renewed sanctions against Tunisia for one year, until Jan. 31, 2021, according to a Jan. 28 notice. The sanctions target 48 people involved in “misappropriation” of public funds, the notice said.
The Council of the European Union sanctioned seven people for participating in the organization of Russian local elections in Ukraine, according to a Jan. 28 press release. The people were sanctioned for undermining the “territorial integrity” of Ukraine and are now subject to asset freezes, the notice said.
Kosovo plans to pass the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act to introduce sanctions against human rights violators, Kosovo’s deputy prime minister said in a Jan. 23 tweet. The measure would impose asset freezes and travel bans on any person or entity sanctioned under the regime. The United Kingdom has said it plans to impose similar sanctions after Brexit (see 2001100046), and Canada has announced plans to build on its human rights sanctions regime (see 1912180034).
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned four international petrochemical and petroleum companies that have transferred hundreds of millions of dollars worth of exports from the National Iranian Oil Company, Treasury said in a Jan. 23 press release. The NIOC is “instrumental” in Iran’s petroleum industry and helps finance Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force, the agency said. OFAC sanctioned Hong Kong-based broker Triliance Petrochemical Co., Hong Kong-based Sage Energy HK, Shanghai-based Peakview Industry Co. and Dubai-based Beneathco DMCC.
The U.S., China, Germany, the United Kingdom and others called on the United Nations Security Council to impose sanctions on people or companies violating the arms embargo or ceasefire in Libya, according to a Jan. 19 press release from Germany’s federal press office. The countries also called on UN member states to enforce the sanctions, “including through national implementation measures.” The statement was issued after the Berlin Conference on Libya, which gathered countries to “assist” the UN in “unifying the International Community in their support for a peaceful solution to the Libyan crisis,” the statement said.
The European Union is finalizing sanctions on people and entities involved in Turkey’s illegal drilling (see 1911120032) in the Eastern Mediterranean, Josep Borrell, the EU’s high representative, said Jan. 20, according to an unofficial translation. Borrell did not give a time frame for imposing the sanctions. Borrell also said “there is no news” on the EU’s efforts to impose sanctions on Venezuela (see 2001100014).
The United Kingdom’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementations amended its Iraq sanctions list, according to a Jan. 20 notice. OFSI removed 15 entries from the list, which removed their asset freezes. The removals include state agencies for agriculture, metals, chemicals and electricity.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned 13 aircrafts belonging to Petroleos de Venezuela, Venezuela’s state-run and sanctioned energy company, Treasury said in a Jan. 21 press release. The aircrafts have been used for travel for senior members of the Nicolas Maduro regime and have “operated in an unsafe and unprofessional manner in proximity to U.S. military aircraft,” Treasury said.
A New York lobbying firm agreed to pay about $12,000 for violations of the Global Terrorism Sanctions Regulations, the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control said in a Jan. 21 notice. The firm, Park Strategies, LLC, violated U.S. sanctions when it signed a contract and received payments from Al-Barakaat Group of Companies Somalia Limited, which was designated a Specially Designated Global Terrorist by OFAC in 2001. The contract required Park Strategies to provide lobbying services for Al-Barakaat, which were “outside the scope” of authorized activities specified in the Treasury’s general license for legal services.