Sanctions could be imposed against the perpetrators of an Oct. 2 attack against members of the United Nations’ mission in Mali, which resulted in the death of one peacekeeper and injuries to others. The attack could constitute war crimes and the “involvement in planning, directing, sponsoring or conducting attacks against” peacekeepers “constitutes a basis for sanctions” by U.N. Security Council members, the UNSC said Oct. 4. The UNSC “stressed that those responsible for these killings should be held accountable, and urged all States, in accordance with their obligations under international law and relevant Security Council resolutions, to cooperate actively with all relevant authorities in this regard.”
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Oct. 6 sanctioned four members of a Mexican drug cartel operating through the port of Manzanillo in Colima, Mexico. The sanctions target Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion members Aldrin Miguel Jarquin Jarquin, Jose Jesus Jarquin Jarquin, Cesar Enrique Diaz De Leon Sauceda and Fernando Zagal Anton. OFAC said it worked with Mexico’s Financial Intelligence Unit to impose the designations. “Treasury is committed to working with partners in the U.S. and Mexican governments to expose, isolate, and disrupt CJNG members operating in Manzanillo and elsewhere,” OFAC Director Andrea Gacki said.
The U.S. and 44 other countries submitted questions this week to Russia regarding the poisoning of Russian political opposition leader Alexei Navalny, which has spurred multiple rounds of U.S. sanctions and trade restrictions targeting Russia. The queries, submitted at the Oct. 5 meeting for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons Executive Council, regard whether Russia has fallen out of compliance with the Chemical Weapons Convention’s requirements. The U.S. has designated various Russian entities and people related to the poisoning and imposed more export restrictions on national security-controlled goods and technology (see 2103170022 and 2108230065). Russia has 10 days to respond.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Sept. 30 removed four entries from its Specially Designated Nationals List because they no longer warrant sanctions. The deletions are for Soho Panama, S.A.; Waked Internacional Panama, S.A.; ABIF Investment, S.A.; and Grupo La Riviera Panama, S.A.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control issued a new frequently asked question to clarify that two Venezuela-related general licenses haven’t expired. In FAQ 933, issued Oct. 1, OFAC said both General License 7C and 20B are authorized for an 18-month period, which “renews automatically for an additional 18 months on the first day of each month.” License 7C authorizes certain transactions with PDV Holding and CITGO Holding. License 20B authorizes transactions by certain international organizations with the Venezuelan government.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Sept. 30 issued a new frequently asked question to clarify certain sanctions exemptions related to Iran’s Imam Reza Holy Shrine. While the State Department has urged people not to travel to Iran, OFAC will exempt transactions related to “religious pilgrimages” by U.S. people to the shrine and the “acquisition of goods or services for personal use while traveling.” The agency also exempts certain donations to the shrine, including clothing, food, medicine and other humanitarian goods that are “intended to be used to alleviate human suffering.”
The U.S. and Qatar announced joint sanctions against a “major” Hezbollah financial network based in the Arabian Peninsula, which includes seven people and one entity, the Treasury Department said Sept. 29. Treasury designated Ali Reda Hassan al-Banai, Ali Reda al-Qassabi Lari, Abd al-Muayyid al-Banai, Abd al-Rahman Abd al-Nabi Shams, Yahya Muhammad al-Abd-al-Muhsin, Majdi Fa’iz al-Ustadz and Sulaiman al-Banai as Specially Designated Global Terrorists for supporting Hezbollah and terrorism. The agency also sanctioned Qatar-based Aldar Properties, which is controlled by Sulaiman al-Banai.
The State Department issued a correction to its Sept. 7 Federal Register document that implemented additional sanctions against Russia for the poisoning of Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny (see 2108230065). The correction fixes a citation to the U.S. Munitions Import List.
The United Nations Security Council on Sept. 21 removed an Iraq-related entry from its sanctions list. The UNSC no longer sanctions the Baghdad Stock Exchange, which was first designated in 2004. The United Kingdom's Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation also announced that it delisted the entity.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned eight people and two entities Sept. 22 for their ties to a Mexican drug cartel. The designations target Sergio Valenzuela Valenzuela, a boss of the Sinaloa Cartel, and seven other Mexican nationals for providing “material assistance” to Valenzuela Valenzuela: Leonardo Pineda Armenta, Gilberto Martinez Renteria, Jaime Humberto Gonzalez Higuera, Jorge Damian Roman Figueroa, Luis Alberto Carrillo Jimenez, Meliton Rochin Hurtado and Miguel Raymundo Marrufo Cabrera. OFAC also designated Acuaindustria Narciso Mendoza, S.C. de R.L. de C.V. and Club Indios Rojos de Juarez, S.A. de C.V. for being controlled by Rochin Hurtado and Marrufo Cabrera.