The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned Mansur Al-Sa’adi and Ahmad ’Ali Ahsan al-Hamzi, who are responsible for organizing attacks by Houthi forces against Yemeni civilians, bordering nations and commercial ships, OFAC said March 2. OFAC said Al-Sa’adi is chief of staff for the Houthi Naval Forces and has helped smuggle Iranian weapons into Yemen. Al-Hamzi is the commander of Yemen’s Houthi-aligned Yemeni Air Force and Air Defense Forces and has also “acquired” Iranian weapons to use in Yemen.
Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with the top stories for Feb. 22-26 in case you missed them. You can find any article by searching on the title or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
The U.S. sanctioned a host of Russian officials and agencies, will add 14 entities to the Entity List and will increase restrictions on exports of military-related goods to Russia in response to the poisoning and imprisonment of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. The increased export controls will also remove certain license exceptions for shipments to Russia and will impose stricter license review policies for certain sensitive goods, the State Department said March 2.
Apple last week introduced a new ethics and compliance webpage, featuring a detailed outline of its trade compliance policies surrounding export controls and sanctions. A table of all Apple products provides their respective Export Control Classification Numbers and which destinations are blocked from receiving Apple products. The company said all its products qualify as mass market products and are subject to the Export Administration Regulations but are not controlled as dual-use goods by the Wassenaar Arrangement. Apple said some of its goods may be eligible for the Office of Foreign Assets Control’s Iranian General License No. D1 and Bureau of Industry and Security license exceptions related to Cuba. OFAC fined Apple about $465,000 in November 2019 after the company hosted, sold and helped transfer software applications and content belonging to a sanctioned company (see 1911250064).
The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned Ahmad Hassan Mohammed al Asiri, Saudi Arabia’s former deputy head of the General Intelligence Presidency, and the country’s Rapid Intervention Force for their involvement in the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. They were designated under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act for human rights violations, OFAC said Feb. 26.
In a case against an Iranian banker accused of violating U.S. sanctions on Iran, Judge Alison Nathan for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York lambasted federal prosecutors over their mishandling of evidence and dereliction of responsibility. Stopping short of finding them guilty of knowingly withholding crucial information or intentionally misrepresenting facts to the court, Nathan in a Feb. 22 ruling called for a full investigation of the prosecutors' actions by the Department of Justice's Office of Professional Responsibility and said she hopes the government's reforms on evidence handling training will ensure that similar action is not repeated.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control imposed sanctions at a record pace during the Trump administration but saw a significant decline in enforcement actions and relied more heavily on voluntary disclosures as opposed to its own investigative resources, researchers said. Under President Donald Trump, OFAC also shifted its focus away from large financial institutions and instead targeted businesses in trade, manufacturing, travel and technology sectors, a trend that could promote more sanctions compliance across various industries.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned two people involved in Myanmar’s military coup carried out earlier this month, OFAC said Feb. 22. The designations target Moe Myint Tun and Maung Maung Kyaw, who the State Department said are members of Myanmar's State Administrative Council. The move follows previous U.S. sanctions imposed on Myanmar this month, along with increased export restrictions (see 2102110020).
Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with the top stories for Feb. 16-19 in case you missed them. You can find any article by searching on the title or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control updated two sanctions entries for a Russian entity and a vessel involved in the construction of the Russian gas pipeline Nord Stream 2 (see 2101190018), according to a Feb. 22 notice. The agency added identifying information for the entries and other sanctions information. OFAC didn’t comment on the update.