The Council of the European Union on July 29 decided to renew its list of individuals and entities subject to restrictive measures meant to combat terrorism. The measures cover 13 individuals and 22 entities. As part of the renewal, the council delisted one deceased individual but left the rest "unchanged."
The Office of Foreign Assets Control's $11.8 million sanctions fine levied on Interactive Brokers earlier this month is another sign that the agency intends to focus enforcement on "financial gatekeepers," including investment firms, accountants and wealth advisers (see 2506230023), Baker Botts said in a client alert.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control last week labeled Venezuela-based Cartel de los Soles a Specially Designated Global Terrorist. OFAC said the cartel is a criminal group headed by Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, adding it "provides material support" to groups the U.S. has labeled foreign terrorist organizations, including Tren de Aragua and the Sinaloa Cartel.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control deleted a range of entries from its Specially Designated Nationals List last week that were originally sanctioned for their ties to Myanmar or North Korea. The delistings include KT Services & Logistics Company Limited and its CEO, Jonathan Myo Kyaw Thaung, a company OFAC sanctioned in 2022 for being controlled by the Myanmar military; Funsaga Pte Ltd., which also was sanctioned in 2022 for doing business with a North Korean-run animation studio; and Suntac Technologies, which was sanctioned in 2023 for ties to the Myanmar military. OFAC didn't release more information about why it removed those entries.
The U.K. last week released a threat assessment of the sanctions compliance risks involving British "cyptoasset" firms, saying those companies have likely underreported suspected sanctions breaches to the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation since August 2022. Although most cases of noncompliance by these companies have occurred "inadvertently due to common issues such as direct and indirect exposures to" sanctioned people, the U.K. said it expects that some of the violations have involved dealings with the sanctioned Russian exchange Garantex. It also said crypto firms are "at risk of being targeted" by North Korean hackers and added that some British crypto firms are likely "facilitating transfers to Iranian cryptoasset firms with suspected links" to sanctioned parties.
The U.K. on July 24 amended the sanctions listing for energy company Litasco Middle East DMCC under its Russia sanctions list. The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation amended the listing to note that the company is also known as LME Trading DMCC.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week designated North Korea-based Korea Sobaeksu Trading Company and three people working closely with the company for helping North Korea evade sanctions. OFAC said Kim Se Un, Jo Kyong Hun and Myong Chol Min are either employed by the company or work with it to help generate revenue for the North Korean government, including by deploying information technology workers overseas to earn money.
The U.K. on July 23 amended a pair of Russia sanctions licenses pursuant to the U.K. Global Irregular Migration and Trafficking in Persons Sanctions Regulation 2025.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control is now accepting licensing questions through a new online platform and is planning to retire its current callback-only telephone system on Aug. 29, the agency said this week. Users that submit questions through the online platform will receive answers about specific OFAC licenses and interpretive guidance via email or by phone. Before submitting questions, OFAC said, users are encouraged to review existing sanctions FAQs, watch OFAC’s video guidance on applying for a license, review the agency’s best practices for license applications, and check their license application status.
China this week criticized the EU’s recent decision to sanction more than 25 mainland Chinese and Hong Kong companies for supporting Russia's military-industrial complex (see 2507180017), saying the bloc’s allegations are “groundless." Beijing “is strongly dissatisfied with this and firmly opposes it,” a Ministry of Commerce spokesperson said July 21 in response to a reporter's question at a regular press conference, according to an unofficial translation.