The Office of Foreign Assets Control Jan. 4 issued a revised general license that continues to authorize certain transactions (see 1908060048) with Venezuela's “Interim President” Juan Guaido, his staff and others operating under his government. OFAC also amended frequently asked question 679, which outlines the people and entities covered by general license No. 31A.
The State Department released its annual report on U.S. actions taken under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act during 2020. The agency said the U.S. took “significant action” under its human rights sanctions program, which included actions against Chinese officials for human rights abuses in the Xinjiang region (see 2007310028), “corrupt actors” in South Sudan (see 2001080023), and Ugandan officials complicit in an adoption scam victimizing children born in that country (see 2008170018). The report contains a list of all the sanctions targets under the human rights regime in 2020.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned a Venezuelan judge and prosecutor for presiding over the prosecution of the “Citgo 6,” the six U.S. citizens who were “unjustly imprisoned” in Venezuela in 2017, OFAC said Dec. 30. The designations target Judge Lorena Carolina Cornielles Ruiz and prosecutor Ramon Antonio Torres Espinoza. OFAC said the trials of the six Citgo executives were based on “politically motivated charges and marred by a lack of fair trial guarantees.”
The United Kingdom’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation removed Rafidain Bank from its Iraq sanctions list, a Dec. 24 notice said. The U.K. said the Iraq government owns the bank, which also has branches in the Middle East and Africa, but the London branch “is in provisional liquidation.” It is no longer subject to an assets freeze.
The United Kingdom’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation on Dec. 18 amended a range of sanctions entries to update identifying information. The updates pertain to sanctions entries listed under Iraq, Somalia, South Sudan, Iran, North Korea and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The entries are still subject to asset freezes.
The United Kingdom’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation added 36 entries to its Belarus sanctions regime, a Dec. 18 notice said. The additions include government officials, military officials and judges.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Dec. 23 extended a general license related to Petroleos de Venezuela and updated a frequently asked question. General License No. 5F, which replaced No. 5E (see 2010060036), authorizes certain transactions with PdVSA involving an 8.5% bond on or after July 21, 2021. OFAC also updated a Venezuela sanctions FAQ to reflect the change.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned one person and four entities for involvement in the “fraudulent” presidential elections in Belarus earlier this year and the “violent crackdown” on peaceful pro-democracy protests, OFAC said Dec. 23. The sanctions target Henadz Arkadzievich Kazakevich, a senior government official and chief of the country’s Criminal Police. OFAC also designated the Minsk Special Purpose Police Unit, the Main Internal Affairs Directorate of the Minsk City Executive Committee and KGB Alpha for suppressing peaceful protests. The agency also sanctioned the Central Commission of the Republic of Belarus on Elections and Holding Republican Referenda for undermining the country’s elections.
Norway proposed a new “sanctions act” that will allow it to implement certain European Union human rights sanctions, a Dec. 18 news release said. The act will “extend the government’s authority to impose sanctions” on people “involved in especially serious acts that demand a response” by allowing Norway to impose financial sanctions. The country said it is currently able to impose only travel restrictions.
The U.S. sanctioned eight people and 10 entities for being members of or supporting the Syrian government, the Treasury Department said Dec. 22. The sanctions designate two people and 10 entities by Treasury and six people by the State Department. Treasury also issued three new frequently asked questions related to Syria.