The Office of Foreign Assets Control on April 26 deleted two Russia-related entries on its Specially Designated Nationals List: Ice Pearl Navigation Corp. and crude oil tanker Yasa Golden Bosphorus. OFAC sanctioned both in 2023 for transporting Russian oil sold above the global price cap set by the U.S. and its allies (see 2310120029). The agency didn’t say why it removed the designations.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control is sanctioning 16 entities, eight people, five vessels and one aircraft for their involvement in the Iranian military’s drone trade, the agency announced April 25.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on April 23 sanctioned two leaders of al-Qa’ida-aligned terrorist group Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) for the hostage-taking of U.S. persons in West Africa. The designations target Sidan ag Hitta of Mali and Jafar Dicko of Burkina Faso. Concurrently, the State Department sanctioned five JNIM leaders, as well as two al-Murabitoun leaders, for hostage taking of U.S. nationals.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on April 23 sanctioned two companies and four people for their roles in malicious cyber activity against more than a dozen U.S. companies and government entities on behalf of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Cyber Electronic Command (IRGC-CEC).
The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on April 19 partially dismissed a lawsuit from sanctioned individuals Mir Rahman Rahmani and Hafi Ajmal Rahmani and over two dozen of their companies challenging their sanctions listing for their alleged role in a corruption scheme that swiped millions of dollars from U.S. contracts in Afghanistan (Mir Rahman Rahmani v. Janet Yellen, D.D.C. # 24-00285).
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on April 19 sanctioned two entities for raising funds for two Israelis who were sanctioned in February for attacking West Bank Palestinians (see 2402010053).
A now-defunct Thai trading company will pay $20 million to settle charges that it violated Iran sanctions by selling high density polyethylene resin made in Iran to East Asian customers in U.S. dollars, the Office of Foreign Assets Control said April 19 in an enforcement release.
The U.S. announced on April 18 a new package of export controls and sanctions against Iran and its activities that support Russia’s war effort, in retaliation for Iran’s attack five days earlier on Israel.
The U.S. announced new export controls and sanctions against Iran, as well as new export controls against Russia intended to address Iran’s support for Russia’s drone program, in response to Iran’s attack on Israel on April 13.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control said April 16 that it’s issuing a final rule to remove the Zimbabwe sanctions regulations from the Code of Federal Regulations. OFAC said it’s taking the action because President Joe Biden on March 4 terminated the 2003 national emergency declaration for Zimbabwe (see 2403040039). The final rule will take effect upon publication in the Federal Register April 17.