The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Sept. 16 sanctioned two entities and four people for operating as a “significant” drug trafficking organization. The designations target Zulma Maria Musso Torres, Washington Antunez Musso, Juan Carlos Reales Britto and Luis Antonio Bermudez Mejia for their involvement in drug trafficking. Antunez Musso, Reales Britto, and Bermudez Mejia report to Musso Torres, OFAC said, and help her traffic drugs at Colombian seaports. The four persons include husband and wife and the wife's two sons. OFAC also designated two Colombian entities, Exclusive Import Export S.A.S. and Poligono Santa Marta S.A.S., which are controlled by Antunez Musso and Reales Britto.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Sept. 16 sanctioned five al-Qaida supporters in Turkey who provide a “range of financial and travel facilitation services” to the terrorist group. The designations target Majdi Salim, Muhammad Nasr al-Din al-Ghazlani, Nurettin Muslihan, Cebrail Guzel and Soner Gurleyen.
The Biden administration is likely to increase export controls and sanctions enforcement in the next few years, Gibson Dunn lawyers said during a webinar this week. They also said the administration is likely to pursue enforcement in creative ways, including sometimes through disclosures with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S.
Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with the top stories for Sept. 7-10 in case you missed them. You can find any article by searching the title or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Sept. 13 amended two Russia-related entries on its Specially Designated Nationals List. The entries are for Russia’s 27th Scientific Center and the 33rd Scientific Research and Testing Institute, both of which were sanctioned in March in response to the Russian government’s poisoning and imprisonment of opposition leader Alexei Navalny (see 2103020067).
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Sept. 10 again extended a general license that continues to delay certain transactions related to Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A.. General License No. 5H, which replaced No. 5G (see 2107210009), now authorizes certain transactions with PdVSA involving an 8.5% bond on or after Jan. 1, 2022. The agency also updated a frequently asked question to reflect the change. The previous license was set to allow those transactions to occur on or after Oct. 21.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control fined a Texas hardware and software company more than $180,000 for illegally exporting goods, technology and services that were intended to be used in Iran, OFAC said Sept. 9. The company, NewTek, which develops and supplies live production and 3D animation hardware and software systems, voluntarily self-disclosed its 52 violations of the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations. OFAC said the company didn’t have an export control or sanctions compliance program.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control Sept. 8 released its annual terrorist assets report for 2020. The report includes an overview of OFAC terrorism sanctions, their impact, enforcement measures and a summary of blocked assets.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control said it decided to remove sanctions against three people and a vessel last week (see 2109020028) because “circumstances no longer warrant” their inclusion on the Specially Designated Nationals List, the agency said. The sanctions were removed from three Balkans-related entries and one vessel designated under Cuba sanctions. OFAC also changed identifying information for the entry for the vessel Sand Swan, including by revising its name to Ebano. It also updated identifying information for the vessel Tifon.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control is seeking comments by Nov. 8 on an information collection related to its Rough Diamonds Control Regulations, the agency said in a notice. The collection involves the ultimate consignee listed on a customs form for trade in rough diamonds.