Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with some of the top stories for July 20-24 in case you missed them.
A Pennsylvania cookware coating manufacturer was fined about $824,000 after its foreign subsidiaries violated U.S. sanctions against Iran, the Office of Foreign Assets Control said in a July 28 notice. OFAC said Whitford Worldwide Company subsidiaries in Italy and Turkey illegally exported coatings to Iran, and U.S. company employees oversaw the transactions.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned two associates of the Nicolas Maduro family for supporting corruption, the agency said July 23. OFAC designated brothers Santiago Jose Moron Hernandez and Ricardo Jose Moron Hernandez, who are “trusted partners” of Maduro and his son and who help “distribute assets” for the Maduro family around the world. Both brothers also use companies to conduct transactions on behalf of the Maduro family, OFAC said.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on July 22 revised nine FAQs to reflect changes made to two Ukraine-related general licenses involving Russian automotive conglomerate GAZ Group issued earlier this month (see 2007160044). The FAQs clarify the authorizations in the licenses and update their language to reflect new expiration dates.
The State Department designated Maikel Jose Moreno Perez, president of the Supreme Tribunal of Justice in Venezuela, for alleged involvement in transnational organized crime, the agency said July 21. The State Department also offered up to $5 million for information that leads to Moreno Perez’s arrest or conviction. Moreno Perez, who was sanctioned by the Office of Foreign Assets Control in 2017, has taken bribes to influence decisions of civil and criminal cases in Venezuela, the State Department said.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control created a resource page for information on Hong Kong-related sanctions. The page includes links to frequently asked questions, guidance on U.S. sanctions and restrictions on Hong Kong, applying for a Hong Kong-specific license and more. President Donald Trump recently issued an executive order ending preferential treatment for Hong Kong and detailing a range of sanctions authorities and export bans related to the region (see 2007150019).
Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with some of the top stories for July 13-17 in case you missed them.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on July 17 sanctioned four entities and one person for supporting a U.S.-sanctioned Chinese drug trafficking company. OFAC also sanctioned members of Nicaragua President Daniel Ortega’s inner circle and two Nicaraguan companies.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control updated its Nicaragua Sanctions Regulations and added a general license authorizing certain U.S. government activities with Nicaragua, a notice said. The notice incorporates the Nicaragua Human Rights and Anticorruption Act of 2018 into the regulations, which includes certain technical edits and the addition of the “delegation of certain functions with respect to the NHRAA,” OFAC said. It also expands a provision of the regulations to include more clarity on blocked transactions and incorporates a previously issued general license that authorizes certain Nicaragua-related activities. The rule is effective July 17.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on July 16 extended the expiration dates for two Ukraine-related general licenses that authorize certain transactions with U.S.-sanctioned GAZ Group. Both licenses were scheduled to expire July 22 and now expire Jan. 22, 2021. General License No. 13O, which replaces No. 13N, authorizes certain transactions necessary to divestments and debt transfers. General License No. 15I, which replaces No. 15H, authorizes certain transactions related to the “manufacture and sale of existing and new models of vehicles” -- including components, engines and commercial vehicles -- produced by GAZ Group.