Incoterms, the rules that define the responsibilities of sellers and buyers in shipping contracts, don’t relieve shippers from their sanctions compliance obligations or modify sanctions-related requirements “in any way,” the European Commission said in recent guidance.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned several people with ties to drug trafficking in Guyana, Colombia and Venezuela, including Mark Cromwell, Himnauth Sawh, Randolph Duncan, Paul Daby Jr., Yeison Andres Sanchez Vallejo and Manuel Salazar Gutierrez. OFAC said Guyana has been a transshipment point for drugs moving from South America to the U.S. and Europe for “decades,” including shipments of cocaine from Colombia and Venezuela and through the waters of Guyana and Suriname.
The U.S. this week sanctioned four International Criminal Court judges and issued several general licenses to authorize certain transactions with those judges or with the ICC that otherwise would be blocked by the Trump administration’s sanctions authorities against the judicial body (see 2502070022).
The U.K.'s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation published a series of videos this week to provide guidance on sanctions administered by the agency as well as on reporting requirements, general and specific licenses, sanctions lists, and more. The U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control also has published video guidance about complying with sanctions (see 2505230009).
The FBI is asking for information about people who may have been victimized by Funnull Technology Inc., the Philippines-based company that was sanctioned last month for providing computer infrastructure for hundreds of thousands of websites involved in virtual currency investment scams (see 2505290010). The agency said it’s investigating “fraudulent cryptocurrency investment platforms and companies,” and people who believe they have “fallen victim” to Funnull or another similar scammer should contact the FBI and provide “as many transaction details as possible, including cryptocurrency addresses, amount and type of cryptocurrency, date and time, and transaction ID (hash).”
The EU this week officially lifted sanctions against Syria (see 2505210030) except for certain restrictions related to the Bashar Assad regime and "those related to security," the European Commission said. "The EU stands ready to support the Syrian people in the rebuilding of their country, based on a Syrian-led and Syrian-owned process that provides for its people," the commission said. "The EU will continue monitoring developments on the ground, including inclusiveness, progress on reforms and accountability with regard to recent violence outbreaks, as well as the effects of the lifting of economic sanctions."
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned Philippines-based Funnull Technology Inc. and its administrator, Liu Lizhi, for providing computer infrastructure for hundreds of thousands of websites involved in virtual currency investment scams. OFAC said Americans lose billions of dollars annually in these scams, which are known as "pig butchering."
President Donald Trump this week said he hasn't yet decided to impose new sanctions against Russia because he believes it could still hurt the possibility of a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.
The U.K. on May 28 corrected seven entries on its Russia sanctions regime, including one person and six entities. The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation corrected the listing for Igor Bystrov, deputy director of MT-Systems and owner of Semirtek DOO, and six Russian and Chinese defense companies. The companies are Atoma LLC, MT-Systems, Pioneer Trade, Shanghai New Chess Co., Shanghai New Chess International Logistics Co. and LLC Responsibility "Market Special Depository."
New FAQs issued by the Office of Foreign Assets Control on May 28 provide more guidance on U.S. sanctions relief for Syria (see 2505230073), including what types of transactions are authorized, what Syria-related sanctions the U.S. is still enforcing and more. The FAQs stress that U.S. banks can process transactions by, to and through the Central Bank of Syria and that the sanctions relief doesn't remove any existing authorizations for humanitarian aid.