The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned Iran’s Armed Forces General Staff and nine government appointees of Iranian leader Ali Khamenei, Treasury said Nov. 4. The sanctions target officials in Khamenei’s office, the country’s Expediency Council and the judiciary, Treasury said.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control extended the expiration dates of two Ukraine General Licenses and expanded an authorization for certain activities, OFAC said in a Nov. 1 notice. General License No. 13M and No. 15G, replacing No. 13L and No. 15F, respectively, extend the expiration date of authorized transactions necessary to the wind-down of operations with GAZ Group until March 31, 2020. No. 15G also expands authorizations for certain “safety-related activity” and introduces a new authorization for “certain activities to comply with environmental regulatory requirements,” OFAC said.
The Treasury Department announced a mechanism to help companies ensure their humanitarian exports to Iran will not be diverted to the government and other sanctioned Iranian entities, Treasury said in an Oct. 25 press release. The mechanism will require participating foreign governments and financial institutions to “conduct enhanced due diligence” -- including the reporting of “a substantial and unprecedented amount of information” -- on a monthly basis. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control also issued a guidance outlining the requirements.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control amended a Venezuela-related general license, OFAC said in an Oct. 24 notice. General License No. 5A, replacing No. 5, authorizes certain transactions with certain bonds related to Petróleos de Venezuela, the country’s state-run oil company. OFAC also issued a Frequently Asked Question (No. 595) explaining that the license contains “a delay in effectiveness until January 22, 2020.”
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control issued a general license to allow certain transactions with COSCO Shipping Tanker (Dalian) Co. -- a subsidiary of COSCO Shipping Corporation -- until Dec. 20, OFAC said in an Oct. 24 notice. General License K allows transactions that are necessary to the “maintenance or wind down” of transactions with COSCO Shipping Tanker (Dalian) and any entity it owns by more than 50 percent. The license does not authorize transactions with COSCO Shipping Tanker (Dalian) Seaman and Ship Management Co.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control extended the expiration date of a Belarus-related general license, OFAC said in a notice. General License No. 2G, replacing No. 2F, authorizes certain transactions with nine Belarusian entities until April 26, 2021.
Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with some of the top stories for Oct. 15-18 in case they were missed.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control issued a Venezuela-related general license extending certain permitted transactions with Petroleos de Venezuela, Venezuela’s state-owned oil company, according to an Oct. 21 OFAC notice. General License No. 8D, which replaces No. 8C, authorizes certain transactions by Chevron Corp., Haliburton, Schlumberger Limited, Baker Hughes and Weatherford International until Jan. 22, 2020.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control renewed a general license that authorizes certain transactions with Nynas AB, a joint venture between biofuel producer Neste and Petroleos de Venezuela, Venezuela's state-run oil company. General License No. 13D, which replaces No. 13C, authorizes transactions with Nynas AB and any of its subsidiaries until April 14, 2020. The license was scheduled to expire Oct. 25.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned Turkey’s government and issued three general licenses as Congress called for harsher restrictions on Turkey for its military activities in Syria (see 1910140005). OFAC’s sanctions -- issued after President Donald Trump announced an executive order granting the Treasury and State departments new power to sanction Turkey -- target Turkey’s defense ministry, energy ministry, defense minister (Hulusi Akar), energy minister (Fatih Donmez) and interior minister (Suleyman Soylu). Treasury said more sanctions may be coming.