The Bureau of Industry and Security removed certain license restrictions for Sudan (see 2012080003) to reflect the U.S. decision to rescind Sudan’s designation as a state sponsor of terrorism (see 2012170015). The final rule, effective Jan. 14, will amend the Export Administration Regulations by removing anti-terrorism controls on exports to Sudan and by removing Sudan from Country Group E:1, which makes the country eligible for a 25% de minimis level, BIS said. Sudan also was added to Country Group B and will be eligible for several new license exceptions.
Jenner & Block hired Rachel Alpert, previously with Latham & Watkins, as a partner, the firm said in a news release. Alpert also previously worked in the State Department Office of the Legal Adviser. Her work “supports organizations in the oil and gas, communications, travel, and other industries on legal issues involving export controls and US sanctions laws and regulations under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), Export Administration Regulations (EAR), and Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) regulations,” Jenner & Block said.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned three people and 16 entities controlled by Iran’s supreme leader, OFAC said Jan. 13. The entities allow Iran’s “elite to sustain a corrupt system of ownership over large parts of Iran’s economy,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement. The sanctions target Iran’s Execution of Imam Khomeini’s Order (EIKO), Astan Quds Razavi (AQR) and their subsidiaries, including companies in the energy, engineering and drilling sectors. Also sanctioned are EIKO leader Mohammad Mokhber, AQR leader Ahmad Marvi and Abd al-Aziz Malluh Mirjirash al-Muhammadawi, who has ties to the Islamic State group.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control issued a general license authorizing certain transactions involving securities of companies affiliated with the Chinese military. General License No. 1, issued Jan. 8, authorizes certain transactions involving publicly traded securities with an entity with a name that “closely” matches the name of a company identified in President Donald Trump’s November executive order (see 2011130026) but that has not yet been identified on OFAC’s Chinese military companies list (see 2012290017). The authorization also applies to transactions involving “any securities that are derivative of” those publicly traded securities or “designed to provide investment exposure to such securities.” The transactions are authorized through 9:30 a.m. EST Jan. 28.
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The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned seven people and four entities involved in a Russia-linked influence network aimed at influencing U.S. elections, OFAC said Jan. 11. The designations target former Ukrainian government officials Konstantin Kulyk, Oleksandr Onyshchenko, Andriy Telizhenko and current Ukraine Parliament member Oleksandr Dubinsky. OFAC also sanctioned NabuLeaks and Era-Media TOV, media companies in Ukraine that “push false narratives,” and Petro Zhuravel, who owns designated media disinformation companies Only News and Skeptik TOV. Also designated were Dmytro Kovalchuk and Anton Simonenko, who work closely with Andrii Derkach, a sanctioned Russian agent. Senate Finance Committee ranking member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., released a statement on the move, saying: “The decision to impose sanctions on Andriy Telizhenko for his role in these efforts is welcome and long overdue. By imposing sanctions on Telizhenko, the Trump administration confirms that Senate Republicans’ year-long investigation was based on Russian disinformation. In fact, Chairmen [Ron] Johnson [of Wisconsin, who chairs the Homeland Security Committee] and [Chuck] Grassley [of Iowa, the Finance Committee] cited Mr. Telizhenko 42 times in the letters sent as part of this investigation, and ignored repeated warnings to not give credibility to disinformation.”
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Jan. 8 updated its list of Chinese military companies and sanctioned an Iraqi official for human rights abuses. OFAC designated Falih al-Fayyadh, a former national security adviser who serves as the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Committee chairman. OFAC said al-Fayyadh headed the PMC when its “subcomponents” fired live ammunition at peaceful protesters in 2019.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Jan. 6 issued a frequently asked question to provide guidance on President Donald Trump’s November executive order to ban U.S. investment in Chinese military companies (see 2011130026). OFAC said market intermediaries and others may “engage in ancillary or intermediary activities that are necessary to effect divestiture during the relevant wind-down periods” with publicly traded securities of Chinese military companies. The agency clarified that transactions by U.S. people and investors involving investment funds “seeking to divest during the relevant wind-down periods to ensure compliance” with Trump’s order are allowed.
A Microsoft subsidiary said it received a U.S. sanctions license to provide its services to software developers in Iran. GitHub, which provides hosting for software development, said it was able to convince the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Controls that use of GitHub “advances human progress,” international communication and improves free speech, the company said Jan. 5. GitHub called the two-year process with OFAC “lengthy and intensive” and said it is “in the process” of rolling back “all restrictions on developers in Iran, and reinstating full access to affected accounts.” The company said it is also working to secure similar licenses for developers in Crimea and Syria. OFAC didn’t comment.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control Jan. 6 issued two new frequently asked questions related to President Donald Trump’s November executive order to ban U.S. investment in Chinese military companies (see 2011130026). In FAQ 863, OFAC said U.S. people can “custody, offer for sale, serve as a transfer agent and trade” in securities covered by the order “to the extent that such support services are not provided to U.S. persons in connection” with certain “prohibited transactions.” Those transactions include “clearing, execution, settlement, custody, transfer agency, back-end services, as well as other such support services,” OFAC said.