The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week issued two updated Venezuela-related general licenses, including one that renews the current authorization for certain transactions with the country’s state-owned energy company and another that updated the authorization for certain transactions with the country’s flagship airline.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Nov. 16 sanctioned three United Arab Emirates-based companies and three vessels for violating the price cap on Russian oil (see 2310240068). The designations target Kazan Shipping Inc., Progress Shipping Co. Ltd. and Gallion Navigation Inc., the registered owners, respectively, of three vessels: the Kazan, the Ligovsky Prospect and the NS Century.

The U.S. this week sanctioned 10 people and 18 entities involved in Russia’s “malign influence” and corruption in the Western Balkans, including government officials and organized crime leaders in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and North Macedonia. The designations, announced by both the Treasury and State departments, also target individuals who “impede critical reforms and progress toward EU accession” of those countries, the State Department said.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week issued a correction to a sanction designation published in the Federal Register in April 2021. The correction fixed the basis for the designation of Artem Nikolaevich Stepanov, who was sanctioned for having ties to Russian company Yunidzhet, a procurement agent for Yevgeniy Prigozhin, the former leader of the Russian private military company Wagner Group.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned Gilbert Hernan de Los Angeles Bell Fernandez, a Costa Rican narcotics trafficker who has played a “significant role” in Costa Rica’s transformation into a major narcotics transit hub. Bell, also known as Macho Coca, is one of the city of Limón’s most “prolific” and violent traffickers, OFAC said, adding that he moves “large quantities of cocaine” and Costa Rican authorities arrested him in 2015.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week issued a new guidance to make non-governmental organizations and others aware of the licenses and authorizations available for humanitarian-related transactions involving the Palestinian people. OFAC stressed that its “sanctions do not stand in the way of legitimate humanitarian assistance” to the region, and the guidance outlines what types of transactions and services are allowed.

The U.S. and the U.K. this week released a new round of sanctions against people and entities helping to finance the terror group Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The designations target various PIJ and Hamas officials, a Lebanon-based money exchange company and others.

Canada last week announced another set of Russia-related sanctions, targeting nine people and six entities involved in the “Kremlin-backed orchestration of disinformation and war propaganda.” Canada said some of the designated entities are either directly funded by the federal government or receive state grants distributed by Kremlin agents to “spread false narratives and propaganda as if it were expert opinion in an attempt to legitimize” Russia’s war against Ukraine.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week released updated Russia-related General License 76A, which replaces General License 76, to clarify that the license applies to Public Joint Stock Company Saint Petersburg Exchange. OFAC said the license previously listed the entity’s name as “Saint Petersburg Stock Exchange.” The license “otherwise remains unchanged,” OFAC said.

The Treasury Department and DOJ this week convened a meeting of Russian Elites, Proxies and Oligarchs (REPO) Task Force deputies to “coordinate lines of effort” involving seized Russian assets, Treasury said Nov. 7. The meeting, held the previous day, brought together “experts across the U.S. government and international community” to explore ways the REPO task force -- including officials from Australia, Canada, the EU, France, Germany, Japan, Italy and the U.K. -- can use seized Russian assets to compensate Ukraine for damages incurred during its war with Russia. Treasury said REPO members committed that Russian assets in REPO jurisdictions “will remain immobilized until Russia pays for the damage it has caused to Ukraine.” The deputies plan to meet again later this year.