The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned three senior members and one associate of the Mexico-based Cartel del Noreste, which it called one of the "most violent drug trafficking organizations" in the country and which the U.S. labeled a Foreign Terrorist Organization in February (see 2502190011).
The Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network is asking banks and other financial institutions to be aware of cybercriminals, drug-trafficking groups and others using convertible virtual currency kiosks for illegal activity. They use the kiosks -- which act as ATM-like devices that allow customers to exchange real currency for virtual currency -- to send payments under “false pretenses,” launder drug money and execute other activities that may violate FinCEN’s rules to counter money laundering and financing of terrorism. The agency's alert includes a list of red flags that banks should monitor and asks financial institutions to submit suspicious activity reports to FinCEN with the key term “FIN-2025-CVCKIOSK” if they suspect a transaction may be tied to illegal use of the kiosks.
Estonia has recently seen an uptick in shipments of imported plywood that it suspects of violating EU sanctions against Russia, the country’s tax and customs agency said this month.
A State Department spokesperson this week declined to say whether the U.S. would consider reinstating sanctions against Israeli settlers who have committed violence against Palestinians in the West Bank. But, he said, the U.S. has spoken with the Israeli government about the recent uptick in violence.
President Donald Trump this week accused India of buying large amounts of Russian oil and selling it for profit, adding that he plans to significantly raise U.S. tariffs against the country.
The U.K.'s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation updated its Russia-related sanction entry for Petr Olegovich Aven, an executive with the Alfa Group Consortium, one of Russia’s largest financial and investment conglomerates. OFSI changed his address from Moscow to Riga, Latvia, and updated other identifying information.
The State Department issued notice of its latest report to Congress under the Iran Freedom and Counter-Proliferation Act to certify that Iran wasn't using certain raw or semi-finished metals described in the IFCA “as a medium for barter, swap, or any other exchange." The agency did say, however, that Iran was using certain products in connection with its nuclear, military or ballistic missile programs, including "austenitic nickel-chromium alloy," "magnesium ingots," "sodium perchlorate," tungsten copper and more. The agency also continued to determine, in coordination with the Treasury Department, that the construction sector of Iran is controlled directly or indirectly by the sanctioned Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The State Department this week labeled the Iraqi paramilitary organization Kata’ib al-Imam Ali and Nasr Mohsen Ali Huthele, the leader of the Harakat al-Nujaba, another Iraqi paramilitary group, specially designated global terrorists. The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned both in June for counterterrorism reasons (see 2506130001).
The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned an Iranian business executive and five entities based in Iran, mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan for procuring technology on behalf of Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industrial Company, an Iranian state-owned subsidiary of the country's Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics. OFAC said the subsidiary makes military aircraft, including unmanned drones for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The U.N. Security Council this week unanimously agreed to renew its sanctions regime targeting non-state armed groups and people operating in the Central African Republic. The sanctions were renewed for one year, extending them until July 31, 2026.