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.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week published Arabic translations of several general licenses that authorize certain transactions with the Yemen-based Houthis, also known as Ansarallah. The licenses cover transactions related to certain agricultural goods, telecommunications, personal remittances, petroleum products, port operations and diplomatic missions.
Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with the top stories from last week in case you missed them. You can find any article by searching for the title or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
A new license issued this week by the Office of Foreign Assets Control authorizes payments of certain taxes, fees, import duties, licenses, certifications and other similar transactions involving the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, the National Wealth Fund of the Russian Federation, and the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation that would normally be blocked under Directive 4 of Executive Order 14024. General License 13M authorizes those transactions through 12:01 a.m. EDT July 9 as long as they are “ordinarily incident and necessary to the day-to-day operations in the Russian Federation of such U.S. persons or entities.”
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on April 2 released quarterly reports on certain licensing activities for Iran, covering the period from October 2024 through December 2024. The reports provide licensing statistics for exports of agricultural goods, medicine and medical devices as required by the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act of 2000.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on April 2 removed Russian national Karina Rotenberg, also known as Karina Gapchuk Fox, from its Specially Designated Nationals List. Rotenberg was sanctioned for allegedly helping her husband, Russian businessman Boris Rotenberg, evade sanctions, according to OpenSanctions.org. Boris Rotenberg was designated in 2014. OFAC didn’t release more information.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned a network of people and companies connected to Sa’id al-Jamal, a sanctioned senior Houthi financial official backed by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force. OFAC said the network has bought tens of millions of dollars’ worth of commodities from Russia, including weapons and other sensitive goods, for the Houthis in Yemen. The agency also sanctioned eight digital asset wallets used by the Houthis to move money.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned six entities and two people in Iran, the United Arab Emirates and China responsible for buying drone parts for Iran-based Qods Aviation Industries, the leading manufacturer for the country's drone program. DOJ also announced charges against people and one company involved in the network after saying they illegally sent controlled U.S. technology to Iran.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned six people and seven entities tied to the money laundering network supporting the Mexico-based Sinaloa Cartel, which the agency called one of the “most notorious and violent drug trafficking organizations in the world.”