The U.S. should harmonize the sanctions lists kept by the Commerce and Treasury departments to ensure trade and financial restrictions are imposed across the same set of companies, said Keith Krach, a former senior State Department official. Krach said all companies subject to export restrictions on the Entity List also should face strict financial sanctions on Treasury’s Specially Designated Nationals List to cut off any U.S. support for sanctioned companies, particularly those in China.
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The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned two people and one business in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina for “enabling divisive and destabilizing activities” in the Western Balkans. The designations target the federation's Prime Minister Fadil Novalic, who “misused pensioner data for the benefit of his own political party.” OFAC also sanctioned Slobodan Stankovic, one of the country’s wealthiest people, and his company Integral Inzenjering A.D. Laktasi, which has been awarded large projects due “to its proximity” to leadership. The agency previously sanctioned Diana Kajmakovic, a state prosecutor in Bosnia and Herzegovina, for corruption (see 2209260025).
China voiced its opposition to the U.S.'s recent sanctions move on Iran, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said during a regular press conference Sept. 30 in Beijing, according to a transcript provided in English. The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Sept. 29 sanctioned a group of companies that have sold hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of Iranian petrochemicals and petroleum goods to end users in Asia (see 2209290045). The companies included Hong Kong-based Sierra Vista Trading and China-based Zhonggu Storage and Transportation and WS Shipping. The spokesperson said China always stands opposed to unilateral sanctions, and said the country has "conducted normal cooperation with Iran within the framework for international law." The spokesperson said the U.S. must ditch its practice of using sanctions "at every turn" and do more to reimpose the Iran nuclear deal.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control amended and reissued the Libyan Sanctions Regulations to include more guidance, definitions, general licenses and “other regulatory provisions that will provide further guidance to the public,” OFAC said. Effective Oct. 3, the new regulations replace the previous regulations published in 2011 in “abbreviated form."
The Office of Foreign Assets Control is seeking public comments on an information collection related to its requirements surrounding remittance forwarding services to Cuba. The collection includes information on recordkeeping requirements. Comments are due Dec. 2.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Sept. 30 published a sanctions compliance guidance for instant payment systems, outlining various risk factors, compliance solutions and other considerations for financial institutions that use the systems. The guidance also includes a set of “key compliance features” that should be incorporated into instant payment systems.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control fined Washington-based Tango Card $116,048.60 for violating U.S. sanctions as a result of its “deficient geolocation identification processes,” the agency said last week. OFAC said Tango Card, an electronic gift and reward services company, violated U.S. sanctions related to the Crimea region of Ukraine and sanctions imposed against Cuba, Iran, Syria and North Korea.
The U.S. last week announced a host of new sanctions and export controls against Russia, targeting Russian defense and technology companies, Russian government officials and various suppliers for supporting the country's military. The measures include hundreds of new designations and 57 additions to the Entity List, most of which will be subject to certain foreign direct product rule restrictions.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Sept. 29 sanctioned an international network of companies that have sold hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of Iranian petrochemicals and petroleum products to end users in Asia. The designations target a range of Iranian and international brokers and front companies, including Iran Chemical Industries Investment Company, Middle East Kimiya Pars Co., India-based Tibalaji Petrochem Private Limited, Hong Kong-based Sierra Vista Trading Limited, United Arab Emirates-based Clara Shipping LLC and others, including the Panama-flagged liquid petroleum gas tanker Gas Allure. Along with OFAC, the State Department sanctioned China-based Zhonggu Storage and Transportation Co. Ltd. and WS Shipping Co. Ltd. for their involvement in Iran's petrochemical trade.