The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned Iranian national and liquified petroleum gas (LPG) magnate Seyed Asadoollah Emamjomeh and his corporate network April 22, saying they shipped hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of Iranian LPG and crude oil to foreign markets, which generated revenue for Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs and terrorism proxies.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week announced additional sanctions for leaders of La Nueva Familia Michoacana drug cartel, and removed Magnitsky sanctions for a Hungarian government official.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned the International Bank of Yemen (IBY) April 17 for financially supporting the Yemen-based Houthis, also known as Ansarallah.
The first few weeks of Undersecretary Jeffrey Kessler’s tenure at the Bureau of Industry and Security have been defined by industry uncertainty and skepticism toward career government and business officials, industry members and BIS staff said.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned Chinese oil refinery Shandong Shengxing Chemical Co. Ltd. on April 16 for buying more than $1 billion worth of Iranian crude oil from “shadow fleet” vessels.
James Martinelli, a Treasury Department official, has been named the associate director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's policy division, he announced on LinkedIn. Martinelli has worked at Treasury since 2015 in roles at both FinCEN and the Office of Foreign Assets Control.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned United Arab Emirates-based Indian national Jugwinder Singh Brar for owning multiple shipping companies that operate a fleet of vessels helping Iran move sanctioned goods. OFAC designated his UAE-based companies Prime Tankers LLC and Glory International FZ-LLC, along with India-based companies Global Tankers Private Limited and B and P Solutions Private Limited, and more than 30 vessels with ties to the companies or Brar.
Landon Heid, President Donald Trump’s nominee to be assistant secretary of commerce for export administration (see 2502120020), said April 10 that he wants the Bureau of Industry and Security to wage a “continuous battle every single day” to prevent China from obtaining restricted U.S. technology.
The U.S. this week sanctioned Mexican national Jesus Alfredo Beltran Guzman for trafficking illegal drugs into the U.S. and for being a key leader of the drug trafficking group Beltran Leyva Organization. The Office of Foreign Assets Control said the group is "one of the most powerful drug trafficking organizations in the world, and it has moved fentanyl, cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine into the U.S.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned five Iranian companies and one person for supporting entities that work on Iran's nuclear program, including the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran and the Iran Centrifuge Technology Co. OFAC said the designations target companies procuring or making critical technologies for the two Iranian organizations.