The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control said a Virginia-based company violated OFAC’s Reporting, Procedures and Penalties Regulations after providing the agency false or misleading statements during an OFAC investigation, according to an Aug. 8 enforcement notice. The violation stems from DNI Express Shipping Company’s sale of farm equipment to Sudan, which OFAC said violated the Sudanese Sanctions Regulations.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control on Aug. 6 updated an entry on its Specially Designated Nationals List to include additional locations, addresses and other identifying information for Fadi Hussein Serhan. Serhan was designated in 2015 for acting as a Hizballah procurement agent and general manager of Beirut-based Vatech SARL, which he used to buy “sensitive technology and equipment for Hizballah,” according to OFAC.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control issued a set of frequently asked questions and amended the Iranian Financial Sanctions Regulations to implement a May executive order that imposed sanctions on Iran iron, steel, aluminum and copper, OFAC said in a notice scheduled to be published in the Aug. 7 Federal Register. The executive order was intended to cut off revenue streams from Iran’s metals sectors that fund the country’s nuclear weapons program, the notice said. The amendments to the sanctions regulations change the heading “Iranian Human Rights Abuses Sanctions Regulations” to the “Iranian Sector and Human Rights Abuses Sanctions Regulations” to reflect U.S. sanctions on Iran’s metal sectors.
Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with some of the top stories for July 29 - Aug. 2 in case they were missed.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control agreed on a $1.7 million settlement with PACCAR Inc., of Bellevue, Washington, for 63 violations of U.S. sanctions on Iran by PACCAR’s subsidiary, OFAC said in an Aug. 6 notice. The subsidiary, Netherlands-based DAF Trucks N.V., sold 63 trucks worth more than $5 million to European customers that DAF knew intended to sell the trucks to Iran, OFAC said.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control on Aug. 6 issued a set of Venezuela-related frequently asked questions, amended 12 general licenses, created 13 new general licenses and released a Venezuela sanctions guidance detailing which types of transactions are authorized between U.S. companies and Venezuela. The moves were in coordination with President Donald Trump’s Aug. 5 executive order that expanded certain sanctions on Venezuela.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control on Aug. 3 issued a “Russia-related directive” and a set of frequently asked questions to pair with President Donald Trump’s Aug. 1 executive order on chemical and biological weapons sanctions.
The Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control on Aug. 1 removed more than 40 entries from its Kingpin Act designations, which impose sanctions on international narcotics traffickers. The removals include people based in Colombia, Panama, Guatemala and Mexico.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran’s foreign minister and spokesman, Treasury announced July 31. The move comes about a month after Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told reporters in June that President Donald Trump was planning to sanction Javad Zarif (see 1906240046). “Javad Zarif implements the reckless agenda of Iran’s Supreme Leader, and is the regime’s primary spokesperson around the world,” Mnuchin said in a statement. “At the same time the Iranian regime denies Iranian citizens’ access to social media, Foreign Minister Javad Zarif spreads the regime’s propaganda and disinformation around the world through these mediums.”
A top Treasury official acknowledged criticism that the agency is abusing its sanctions powers but stood by the approach, saying the sanctions are necessary and that the Treasury is mitigating impacts on U.S. companies by issuing more compliance guidance.