The U.S.’s decision to rejoin the Iran nuclear deal and rescind Iranian sanctions would be complex and time-consuming, likely taking months of bureaucratic work and negotiations, sanctions and Iran experts said. The new President Joe Biden administration has a range of Iranian-related sanctions issues to tackle before rejoining the agreement, the experts said, such as which Iranian entities and officials to de-list, whether to endorse Europe’s INSTEX and how to address humanitarian exports to Iran.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control extended a general license authorizing certain transactions involving securities of companies that “closely” match the name of a company identified as a Chinese military company (see 2011130026), a Jan. 27 notice said. General License No. 1A, which replaced General License No. 1 (see 2101120026), authorizes the transactions through 9:30 a.m. EDT May 27 and past the original expiration date of Jan. 28. OFAC also added language to the license to specify that it does not authorize transactions with securities of entities listed on OFAC’s Non-Specially Designated Nationals Communist Chinese Military Companies List or Defense Department-issued lists (see 2101150006). The agency updated frequently asked questions 878 and 879 to reflect the change.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control updated its sanctions list search tool to include “fuzzy logic that is more resource efficient,” a Jan. 25 notice said. The changes will improve the performance and responsiveness of the search tool, OFAC said. Users “may see differences between search results from the previous version of the tool and the newer version.”
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Jan. 25 issued a new general license and updated an existing frequently asked question related to trade with Yemen-based Ansarallah, a U.S.-sanctioned foreign terrorist organization (see 2101110015). General License No. 13 authorizes certain transactions with Ansarallah or its subsidiaries through 12:01 a.m. on Feb. 26. OFAC also updated FAQ 876 to mention the new general license. OFAC issued four general licenses on Jan. 19 to authorize certain transactions with Ansarallah, including trade in humanitarian goods (see 2101190016).
Serica Energy, a United Kingdom-based energy company, said it received a renewed license from the Office of Foreign Assets Control to continue providing goods, services and support to the North Sea Rhum field, the company said Jan. 21. Serica also said it received “secondary sanctions assurance” from OFAC and will be allowed to continue providing services to Rhum beyond the Feb. 28 expiration of its current license. The new license is valid through Jan. 31, 2023. The Rhum gas field is partly owned by an Iranian oil company. OFAC declined to comment.
An Indonesian paper product manufacturer agreed to a fine of more than $1.5 million in order to settle charges related to bank fraud involving trade with North Korea, the Justice Department said Jan. 17. The company, PT Bukit Muria Jaya (BMJ), also entered into a settlement agreement with the Treasury Department and was fined more than $1 million by the Office of Foreign Assets Control for violating U.S. sanctions (see 2101140045). The Justice Department said BMJ admitted to the violations and agreed to implement an improved compliance program, as part of a deferred prosecution agreement. OFAC said it planned to credit the penalty money owed by BMJ once the company completes payment of its fine to the Justice Department.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control issued four new general licenses and three frequently asked questions to help sustain the flow of humanitarian aid to Yemen, according to a Jan. 19 notice. General License No. 9, No. 10 and No. 11 authorize certain transactions by the U.S. government, certain international organizations and nongovernmental organizations with Ansarallah, which was designated as a foreign terrorist organization earlier this month (see 2101110015). General License No. 12 authorizes certain exports and reexports of agricultural products, medicine, medical devices, replacement parts and components and other humanitarian goods involving Ansarallah.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned three people, 14 entities and six vessels for their involvement in a sanctions evasion network in Venezuela’s oil sector, OFAC said Jan. 19. The designations include Malta-based Elemento and Switzerland-based Swissoil, both of which are involved in buying, shipping and selling Venezuelan oil. OFAC also sanctioned Francisco Javier D’Agostino Casado, Alessandro Bazzoni and Philipp Paul Vartan Apikian for helping to coordinate the oil purchases. The agency also sanctioned a range of entities controlled by Bazzoni, D’Agostino and Elemento and ships that transported the oil.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned the Cuban Ministry of Interior and Minister of Interior Lazaro Alberto Alvarez Casas for human rights violations, OFAC said Jan. 15. OFAC said the ministry is responsible for Cuba’s internal security and for arresting “persons of interest” to the ministry, including Cuban dissidents and activists, and employing torture tactics.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Jan. 15 issued regulations to implement the Hong Kong sanctions authorities outlined in President Donald Trump’s July executive order that ended preferential treatment for the region (see 2007150019). The regulations, which were published in a final rule and took effect Jan. 15, describe which activities are blocked and outline penalties, reporting requirements, record-keeping requirements and more. OFAC said it plans to add to the final rule “with a more comprehensive set of regulations, which may include additional interpretive and definitional guidance and additional general licenses and statements of licensing policy.”