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.
The Congressional Research Service released a Feb. 5 report on the global oil market effects of U.S. sanctions against Iran, Russia and Venezuela. The report contains an overview of U.S. sanctions against the three countries’ oil markets, including how successfully U.S. sanctions have blocked oil trade. The CRS said U.S. sanctions have succeeded in their goals in hurting the target markets, but U.S. sanctions frameworks do not include “design elements that consider possible oil market impacts” if the sanctions are eased or lifted.
The United Nations Security Council Committee added Seka Baluku to its Democratic Republic of Congo sanctions list, according to a Feb. 6 press release. The UNSC said Baluku is the leader of the Allied Democratic Forces, a Uganda-based terrorist organization. The United Kingdom updated its sanctions list with the UNSC addition. The U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned six members of the Allied Democratic Forces in December (see 1912100044) and sanctioned the group in 2014.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control added Venezuela’s state-owned airline and its fleet of more than 35 aircrafts to its Specially Designated Nationals List, Treasury said in a Feb. 7 press release. The airline, Consorcio Venezolano de Industrias Aeronáuticas y Servicios Aereos, S.A., and its fleet have been sanctioned since August as part of a U.S. executive order to block Venezuelan government property, Treasury said. Treasury added the airline and its fleet to the SDN list to “ensure strengthened compliance with U.S. sanctions.”
The State Department sanctioned Bulgarian Specialized Criminal Court Judge Andon Mitalov for corruption, the agency said Feb. 5. The State Department also designated Mitalov’s wife and daughter: Kornelia Stoykova-Mitalova and Gergana Mitalova, respectively.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control issued regulations to implement its Mali sanctions regime, OFAC said in Feb. 6 notices on its website and in the Federal Register. The regulations, which take effect Feb. 7, will be supplemented with a “more comprehensive set of regulations,” which may include more guidance, general licenses and licensing policy information, OFAC said. The regulations stem from a July executive order that gave the Treasury and State departments authority to block property belonging to people involved in terrorist activities in Mali (see 1907290014).
The United Nations Security Council Committee added one entry to its ISIL (Da’esh) and Al‑Qaida Sanctions List, according to a Feb. 4 notice. The UN added Mali resident Amadou Koufa, founder of the West African terrorist group Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM). The United Kingdom’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation issued a Feb. 5 notice reflecting the change. The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control designated JNIM in 2018 and has sanctioned officials working for the group (see 1907160030).
The United Kingdom’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation released its quarterly report to Parliament on Feb. 4. The report contains actions related to the U.K.’s terrorist asset-freezing sanctions made between July 1 and Sept. 30, including additions, removals and licensing statistics.