The United Kingdom amended entries under its Ukraine sanctions list, according to a March 18 notice from the U.K.’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation. The U.K. removed asset freezes from two entries -- Evgeni Viktorovich Bushmin and Valery Kirillovich Medvedev -- and updated identifying information for 154 people and 11 entities.
The State Department sanctioned Amir Muhammad Sa’id Abdal-Rahman al-Mawla, the new leader of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist, according to a March 17 news release. The agency also released identifying information on Ali Abdullah Ayoub (see 2003170042), the Syrian official sanctioned by the Treasury Department March 17. Ayoub was sanctioned for contributing to the country’s humanitarian crisis, the agency said.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control added one entry to its Specially Designated Nationals List, removed 13 others and amended two additional entries, according to a March 17 notice. OFAC also deleted four entries from its Foreign Sanctions Evaders List. The agency added Ali Abdullah Ayoub, Syria’s defense minister, to its SDN List, while deleting several entries for entities based in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cyprus, Switzerland and Syria. Treasury did not immediately release more information on the sanctions.
The U.S. extradited an Iranian citizen from Georgia to face charges related to sanctions violations, money laundering and illegal exports to Iran, the Justice Department said in a March 17 press release. Merdad Ansari allegedly violated the Iranian Transactions Regulations by attempting to tranship cargo to Iran using his company, Dubai-based Gulf Gate Sea Cargo L.L.C. Ansari worked with co-defendant Mehrdad Foomanie between 2007 and 2011 to obtain more than 100,000 parts from companies across the globe valued at more than $2.5 million for more than 1,250 transactions, including nearly 600 transactions with U.S. companies. The scheme involved buying parts from those companies without informing the sellers they would be shipped to Iran, the Justice Department said. Both Ansari and Foomanie face a maximum 20-year prison sentence for conspiracy to violate the ITR, a 20-year prison sentence for conspiracy to launder money and five years in prison for conspiracy to commit mail fraud.
The U.S. renewed sanctions against Iran, the White House said March 12. The White House said the sanctions, first imposed March 15, 1995, will continue to deter Iran’s nuclear proliferation, its support for terrorism and the activities of the U.S.-sanctioned Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (see 1904080037).
The European Union extended its sanctions against people or companies undermining the sovereignty of Ukraine, until Sept. 15, according to a March 13 notice. The EU also amended entries for 161 people and 11 entities listed under the sanctions regimes, and deleted entries for two deceased people.
The Treasury and State departments have struggled to fill positions related to sanctions implementation and enforcement despite increased funding for sanctions resources, according to a March 11 Government Accountability Office report. Positions have been difficult to fill due to competition from the private sector and a lengthy security clearance process, the GAO said, circumstances that have especially affected the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control and State’s Office of Economic Sanctions Policy and Implementation. Vacancies ranged from 6% to 26% of its “authorized full time equivalents (FTEs).” GAO said State was authorized to hire six FTEs during the start of the 2020 fiscal year even though more than half of its “authorized persons” were vacant at the start of the year.
Five Senate Democrats asked the European Union to sanction a U.S.-designated Russian national for his involvement in U.S. election interference, according to a March 12 letter. In the letter, Sens. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, Bob Menendez, D-N.J., Jack Reed, D-R.I., and Mark Warner, D-Va., said Yevgeniy Prigozhin and his firms, which include the Wagner Group, a Russian paramilitary organization, are “actively engaged in spreading malign influence.” Due to the “broad reach and expanding nature of Prigozhin and the Wagner group’s malign activities abroad, we urge the European Union to take steps to constrain their ability to operate and to deter the Kremlin from engaging in these activities.” The senators added that U.S. sanctions are “only as strong as our multilateral alliances,” and said U.S. pressure would be “significantly enhanced” with EU collaboration.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control issued a Venezuela-related designation, amended three Venezuela-related general licenses and amended two frequently asked questions, according to a March 12 notice. The designation targets Switzerland-based TNK Trading International S.A. for operating in Venezuela’s oil sector. The company is a subsidiary of Russian state-controlled Rosneft Oil Company, according to a press release.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned four Mexican businesses because of their links to Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG) and the Los Cuinis Drug Trafficking Organization, Treasury said in a March 11 news release. The designated companies include the asset holding company International Investments Holding S.A. de C.V. and a gas station company GBJ de Colima, S.A. de C.V. The two companies have been involved in helping Los Cuinis and CJNG to evade U.S. sanctions.