The U.S. this week sanctioned 18 companies, people and ships that it said have ties to a network run by Sa’id al-Jamal, an Iran-backed financial facilitator for the Yemen-based Houthis. The designations target captains of vessels transporting oil on behalf of the network that also benefits the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force, including Iranian national Ali Barkhordar and Pakistani national Wahid Ullah Durrani. Other destinations target companies and people managing those ships, including Marshall Islands-registered Changtai Shipping Ltd., United Arab Emirates-based Indo Gulf Ship Management LLC and boats sailing with the flags of Panama, the Cook Islands, Barbados and Palau.
The U.K. on Oct. 17 added Russian energy company Rasgazdobycha JSC to its Russia sanctions regime, the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation announced. OFSI added the company for supporting the Russian government by conducting business in an area of strategic significance, namely, the energy sector.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned three entities and one person it said are involved in the development and production of Russia’s Garpiya series long-range attack drones, which Moscow uses in its war against Ukraine.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Oct. 17 removed sanctions from Atlas Doviz Ticaret A.S., a Turkish firm it originally sanctioned in 2019 for being used to provide foreign currency exchange services to Iran’s Ansar Bank and its currency exchange arm. OFAC didn’t release more information.
Responding to Iran’s recent missile attacks against Israel, Australia this week sanctioned Iranians with ties to the country’s missile program. The designations, added to the country’s consolidated sanctions list Oct. 15, target a senior official in Iran’s Aerospace Industries Organization; the director of the Shahid Bagheri Industrial Group, a unit within the Aerospace Industries Organization; and the commercial director of the Shahid Hemmat Industrial Group, a unit responsible for Iran’s ballistic missile programs.
The U.S. this week sanctioned people and companies involved in a sanctions evasion network for the terror group Hezbollah and others that help produce and transport Captagon, an addictive amphetamine, to help fund the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria.
The Council of the European Union on Oct. 14 renewed its chemical weapons sanctions regime for another year, extending the sanctions until Oct. 16, 2025. The restrictions currently cover 25 people and three entities.
The Council of the European Union on Oct. 14 added five people and one entity to its Moldova sanctions regime for actions related to Russian attempts to destabilize the country. The sanctions include the governor of the autonomous territorial unit of Gagauzia, Evghenia Gutul, as well as other officials in the territorial unit. The council also listed Evrazia, a Russia-based group "whose goal is to promote Russia's interests abroad," along with its director and founder Nelli Parutenco.
The U.K. on Oct. 15 added nine entries to its Iran sanctions regime and seven entries to its global human rights sanctions regime.
The Council of the European Union on Oct. 14 added seven people and seven entities to its Iran sanctions list as a response to Iran's recent transfer of missiles and drones to Russia (see 2409160005). The additions include three Iranian airlines and two procurement companies that transfer and supply the drones and missiles through "transnational procurement networks" to be used in the war in Ukraine. Two propellant manufacturers were also sanctioned. The individuals include the deputy defense minister of Iran, various Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps officials and the managing directors of Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industries and Aerospace Industries Organization.