Brian Nelson, the Treasury Department’s undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, is leaving the agency to join the presidential campaign of Vice President Kamala Harrris, Axios reported last week. A Treasury spokesperson didn’t respond to a request for comment, but confirmed on LinkedIn that Nelson is being replaced by Brad Smith, the current director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control, on an acting basis.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control renewed two Russia-related general licenses last week that authorize transactions related to debt, equity or currency-conversion. Both licenses were scheduled to expire Aug. 13 but now expire 12:01 a.m. EDT Oct. 12.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control is transitioning to a new online compliance hotline platform that it said will allow the agency to more efficiently respond to sanctions-related requests and questions from the public. Users can now submit queries directly through the OFAC Compliance Hotline page, the agency announced Aug. 2, which will help the “tracking of queries and help OFAC assess when additional public guidance may be helpful.” The agency said it plans to retire its current compliance hotline email adress on Aug. 16 and phone number on Dec. 31, and will fully transition to the online portal starting Jan. 1.
A U.S. digital assets company and a European aerospace firm recently disclosed in financial statements that they're under investigation for possible violations of sanctions or export control laws, while an American entertainment company revealed it submitted a sanctions disclosure to the U.S. government.
The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Loper Bright v. Raimondo rejecting the Chevron principle of deferring to federal agencies' interpretations of ambiguous statutes doesn't call for the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to revisit a decision sustaining the sanctions designation of former Afghan government official Mir Rahman Rahmani and his son, Hafi Ajmal Rahmani, the U.S. said this week (Mir Rahman Rahmani v. Janet Yellen, D.D.C. # 24-00285).
Robert Viglietta is starting a new role within the Office of Foreign Assets Control as a public affairs officer after about two years as a senior sanctions coordinator for the agency, he announced on LinkedIn. Viglietta said he will use his “experience as a sanctions practitioner” to help with OFAC public engagement.
David Horn was named assistant chief counsel for the Office of Foreign Assets Control, he announced on LinkedIn. Horn joined OFAC last year as an attorney adviser.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned five people and seven entities across mainland China, Hong Kong and Iran for helping to provide key parts to Iran’s missile and drone programs. OFAC said they procure accelerometers, gyroscopes and other components that “serve as key inputs” for Iranian weapons programs, which that country uses to produce drones for Russia and its “proxies” in the Middle East.
Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with the top stories from last week in case you missed them. You can find any article by searching for the title or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
The U.S. should start designating Chinese banks under a December executive order that authorizes secondary sanctions on foreign financial institutions that help facilitate Russia-related transactions, a group advocating for democracy in Hong Kong said in a new report this month.