The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned a Venezeulan biometric technology company and its directors for supporting the Nicolas Maduro regime, OFAC said Dec. 18. The sanctions target Ex-Cle Soluciones Biometricas C.A. and co-directors Guillermo Carlos San Agustin and Marcos Javier Machado Requena. OFAC said the company provides “management solutions” to Venezuela government entities and serves as an “electoral hardware and software vendor” to agencies under the Maduro regime.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned two senior Iranian intelligence officials involved in the 2007 abduction of a U.S. law enforcement agent, OFAC said Dec. 14. The sanctions target Mohammad Baseri and Ahmad Khazai, officials at Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security, for the abduction of Robert Levinson, a retired FBI agent at the time who was working as a private investigator.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned three people and three entities in Africa and Asia for corruption, a Dec. 9 news release said. The designations were made as part of International Anti-Corruption Day and imposed sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act.
The incoming Joe Biden administration is planning a “top-to-bottom review” of sanctions operations, programs, budgets and staffing levels at the Treasury Department, Bloomberg reported Dec. 8. It said Adewale Adeyemo, Biden’s pick for deputy treasury secretary, will lead the review. Adeyemo will address “staffing issues” and consider increasing the budget for the Terrorism and Financial Intelligence unit, which oversees the Office of Foreign Assets Control. A Biden transition team spokesperson didn’t comment. OFAC lost a record number of employees last year, which has led to longer processing times and an influx of inexperienced officials (see 2010290028).
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Dec. 7 issued two new frequently asked questions and updated four additional FAQs related to a January executive order that expanded U.S. sanctions authority against Iran (see 2001100050). The two new FAQs clarify whether transactions related to international organizations and Iran’s participation in international legal proceedings are subject to secondary sanctions.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control issued two sets of sanctions, one targeting Iran’s military, the other shipping companies transporting North Korean coal. The Dec. 8 announcements target two people, seven entities and four vessels.
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The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned Shahid Meisami Group and its director, Mehran Babri, for their involvement in Iranian chemical weapons research, OFAC said Dec. 3. The agency said Shahid Meisami Group works under the U.S.-sanctioned Iranian Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research, known as SPND, and is responsible for “numerous” government projects, including the production of chemical agents. The U.S. says SPND works on the Iranian regime’s proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control designated Lucio Rodriguez Serrano as a Specially Designated Narcotics Trafficker for working on behalf of Mexican drug trafficker Rafael Caro Quintero, OFAC said Dec. 2. OFAC said Serrano and Quintero are “lifelong friends” and Serrano has helped Quintero evade capture from U.S. authorities. Quintero is on the FBI’s most-wanted list. Timothy Shea, acting administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration, said arresting Quintero is a “top priority” for the DEA. “Today’s action by Treasury is an important step in our joint mission to disrupt, dismantle, and destroy violent drug trafficking organizations and in bringing Caro Quintero to justice,” Shea said. OFAC also deleted six Mexico and Colombia-related sanctions entries and revised one Mexico-related entry.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned Jhon Fredy Zapata Garzon for supporting Clan del Golfo, a prominent drug trafficking and criminal group in Colombia, OFAC said Dec. 1. The agency also sanctioned three of Garzon’s family members and associates -- Tatiana Marguerid Zapata Garzon, Euclides Correa Salas and Einer Murillo Palacios -- and four businesses owned or controlled by Garzon and his associates -- Las Ingenierias S.A.S., Fresno Home S.A.S., Distriecor S.A.S. and Multioperaciones de Occidente S.A.S., which are used to launder money for Garzon’s drug trafficking.