The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned two Russian nationals for their ties to LockBit, a Russia-based ransomware group. The designations target Ivan Gennadievich Kondratiev, a LockBit affiliate and leader of the National Hazard Society, a LockBit affiliate sub-group; and Artur Sungatov, a Lockbit ransomware group affiliate who has “actively engaged in LockBit ransomware attacks,” OFAC said.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Feb. 16 issued a new guidance document on U.S. sanctions against Ansarallah, also known as the Houthis, to coincide with sanctions taking effect on the Yemeni group that same day pursuant to its formal addition to the Specially Designated Nationals list.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control is modifying its North Korea sanctions regulations to amend a general license for humanitarian activities carried out by non-governmental organizations in North Korea. The agency also is adding three new general licenses for Commerce Department-authorized transactions, agricultural and medical goods, and some journalistic activities, it said.
The U.S. this week sanctioned four entities and three people for procuring and facilitating the illegal export of “goods and technology from over two dozen U.S. companies” to Iranian end-users, including the Central Bank of Iran.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned four entities and identified one vessel for violating the price cap on Russian oil. OFAC said they were involved in a “price cap violation scheme” in late 2023 that included making calls at Russian ports.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned an Ecuadorian gang and its leader for their ties to drug trafficking and violence.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control last week sanctioned six Iranian officials with ties to cyberattacks against the U.S. and other countries. The officials work for Iran’s Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Cyber-Electronic Command (IRGC-CEC), a government organization that carries out the attacks.
The U.S. last week sanctioned a network of companies in Hong Kong and Iran for supplying materials and sensitive technology for Iran’s ballistic missile and drone programs. OFAC said the companies act as “covert procurement entities” for Iran and have helped the country develop its Shahed-series unmanned aerial vehicles that Iran sends to Russia for its war against Ukraine.
The U.S. sanctioned three entities it said are helping to fund the ongoing conflict in Sudan between the country’s two warring groups: the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces. The designations, announced by the Office of Foreign Assets Control Jan. 31, target Alkhaleej Bank Co. Ltd. and Al-Fakher Advanced Works Co. Ltd., two companies controlled by the RSF, and Zadna International Co. for Development Ltd., which acts as a “vehicle for military money-laundering” for the SAF.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned two companies with ties to the Myanmar military along with four of their “cronies” for helping the regime fund itself. The designations were announced days after the U.S. updated its Myanmar business advisory (see 2401300010) and mark the three-year anniversary of the country’s military coup, which sparked multiple rounds of sanctions and export controls by the U.S. and its allies (see 2310310028, 2306210017, 2303240024 and 2107020003).