The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week published four previously issued general licenses under its Chinese Military-Industrial Complex Sanctions Regulations. The text of each license is available in the Federal Register notice.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week removed a yacht from its Specially Designated National List that was sanctioned in 2019 for belonging to Saleh Assi, who was accused of money laundering and aiding a Hezbollah financier. The Malta-flagged Flying Dragon was removed from the SDN List because it no longer belongs to Assi, an OFAC spokesperson said Sept. 1.
The U.K. revised the entry for Dana Holdings on its Belarus sanctions list, the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation announced last week. The change revised identifying information for the company, which operates in the Belarusian construction sector.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned two people and one entity involved in helping North Korea’s weapons and missiles program earn revenue. The designations target Jon Jin Yong and Sergey Mikhaylovich Kozlov, who coordinated work for North Korean construction workers in Russia and procured items used in the ship-building industry. OFAC also sanctioned Intellekt, a company that Yong used in a Moscow-based construction project, for being owned or controlled by Kozlov.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week launched the second episode in its “Introduction to OFAC” series, which is meant to provide guidance and an overview of the agency’s sanctions programs and requirements (see 2307280070). The new video provides an introduction to blocking and non-blocking sanctions.
A sanctioned Chinese supplier of centrifuges to Iran has ties to Chinese military end-users, defense firms and universities, including some that aren’t subject to U.S. trade restrictions, compliance risk advisory firm Kharon said Aug. 24. Kharon said Zhejiang Qingji Ind. Co.’s previously unreported connections highlight the foreign influence risks faced by universities, including in the U.S.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week issued a notice making a minor editorial correction involving its Cuban Assets Control Regulations. OFAC said the error occurred in a reference to its Cuba regulations in the most recent annual revision of the Code of Federal Regulations. The CFR referenced "515.565(d)" when it should have referenced "515.565(f)."
Canada this week sanctioned four people and 29 entities for having “direct ties” to either Russia’s military-industrial complex, its financial industry or its nuclear sectors. Among those designated was a Russian military official associated with the “downing” of the Malaysia Airlines MH17 flight over Russian-controlled territory in 2014. Canada also sanctioned companies making dual-use aviation, marine and special nuclear equipment -- including Promtekhnologiya LLC, which produces weapons for Russian private military company Wagner Group -- and other financial entities linked to the Russian government.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned six Rwandan or Congolese nationals contributing to the “escalation of conflict” in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. OFAC said each belongs to one of four armed groups causing instability in the DRC's eastern portion and committing “serious” human rights abuses.
The State Department this week sanctioned 11 people and two entities for their involvement in forcibly transferring and deporting Ukrainian children from Russia-occupied territories to Russia.