The European Union sanctioned Syrian Foreign Affairs Minister Faisal Mekdad for his involvement in the country's “violent repression against the civilian population,” a Jan. 15 notice said. The designation includes an asset freeze and other trade restrictions, the European Council said.
The State Department sanctioned a group and two people involved in terrorism and maintained the terrorist designation of another group, it said Jan. 14. The agency designated Harakat Sawa’d Misr (HASM) as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and Yahya al-Sayyid Ibrahim Musa and Alaa Ali Ali Mohammed al-Samahi as Specially Designated Global Terrorists. The State Department also maintained the FTO designation of Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ). The designations block the U.S. property of the groups and people and “generally” prohibit transactions with them.
The State Department sanctioned a range of entities and people engaged in illegal business with Iran, it said Jan. 15. The designations target companies doing business with Iranian shipping entities and Iranian entities for arms proliferation.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned the Cuban Ministry of Interior and Minister of Interior Lazaro Alberto Alvarez Casas for human rights violations, OFAC said Jan. 15. OFAC said the ministry is responsible for Cuba’s internal security and for arresting “persons of interest” to the ministry, including Cuban dissidents and activists, and employing torture tactics.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Jan. 15 issued regulations to implement the Hong Kong sanctions authorities outlined in President Donald Trump’s July executive order that ended preferential treatment for the region (see 2007150019). The regulations, which were published in a final rule and took effect Jan. 15, describe which activities are blocked and outline penalties, reporting requirements, record-keeping requirements and more. OFAC said it plans to add to the final rule “with a more comprehensive set of regulations, which may include additional interpretive and definitional guidance and additional general licenses and statements of licensing policy.”
The U.S. sanctioned six Chinese and Hong Kong officials involved in implementing Beijing’s so-called national security law in Hong Kong (see 2007140068), the State Department said Jan. 15. The sanctions target You Quan, vice chairman of the Central Leading Group on Hong Kong and Macau Affairs; Sun Wenqing, deputy director of the Office for Safeguarding National Security in Hong Kong; and Tam Yiu-Chung, Hong Kong delegate to the National People’s Congress Standing Committee. Other sanctions target officials in the National Security Division of the Hong Kong Police: Frederic Choi Chin-Pang, Kelvin Kong Hok Lai and Andrew Kan Kai Yan. The sanctions were issued in response to the Jan. 6 arrest of more than 50 pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Jan. 14 issued a new general license and several new frequently asked questions to provide guidance on President Donald Trump’s November executive order to ban U.S. investment in Chinese military companies (see 2011130026). General License No. 2 authorizes certain transactions and activities involving publicly traded securities of certain entities on OFAC’s Chinese military companies list (see 2012290017). Transactions with companies added to OFAC’s list after 12:01 a.m. EST Jan. 14 are authorized through 12:01 a.m. Eastern time on the date that is 365 days after the date the entity was added to OFAC’s list.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned three people and 16 entities controlled by Iran’s supreme leader, OFAC said Jan. 13. The entities allow Iran’s “elite to sustain a corrupt system of ownership over large parts of Iran’s economy,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement. The sanctions target Iran’s Execution of Imam Khomeini’s Order (EIKO), Astan Quds Razavi (AQR) and their subsidiaries, including companies in the energy, engineering and drilling sectors. Also sanctioned are EIKO leader Mohammad Mokhber, AQR leader Ahmad Marvi and Abd al-Aziz Malluh Mirjirash al-Muhammadawi, who has ties to the Islamic State group.
The European Union said it is concerned about Iran’s continued action to engage in uranium enrichment to up to 20% but is hopeful that U.S. President-elect Joe Biden will help mend the nuclear deal. Although the latest move, which the International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed last week, continues to violate the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the EU did not say it would impose sanctions for the breach, adding that it has “continued to work hard to preserve” the agreement despite U.S. sanctions. “We acknowledge the issues arising from the unilateral withdrawal of the United States from the agreement and the re-imposition of its sanctions,” the European Council said Jan. 11. “The EU has upheld its JCPoA commitments, including regarding sanctions lifting as foreseen in the Agreement.” The council said it welcomes Biden’s “positive statements” on the JCPOA and looks “forward to working with the incoming US-Administration.”
The State Department sanctioned five al-Qaida leaders and added them to the Treasury Department’s Specially Designated Nationals List, the agency said Jan. 12. The sanctions target Iran-based Muhammad Abbatay and Sultan Yusuf Hasan al-'Arif. Also sanctioned were the leaders of the al-Qaida Kurdish Battalions, an al-Qaida-linked group that operates on the Iran-Iraq border: Isma’il Fu’ad Rasul Ahmed, Fuad Ahmad Nuri Ali al-Shakhan and Niamat Hama Rahim Hama Sharif.