The Office of Foreign Assets Control removed sanctions from Yemane Gebreab, an Eritrea government official and presidential adviser. The change took effect July 10 and removes Gebreab from OFAC’s Somalia sanctions.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control fined Amazon more than $130,000 for violating several U.S. sanctions programs and failing to follow reporting requirements for hundreds of transactions. Amazon processed online orders sent to a range of sanctioned countries in the Middle East and Asia and did not follow the agency’s reporting requirements for more than 300 transactions conducted under a Crimea general license, OFAC said in a July 8 notice. OFAC said the violations were caused by “deficiencies” in Amazon's sanctions screening program.
Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with some of the top stories for June 29 - July 2 in case you missed them.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control July 2 removed sanctions from eight companies and vessels that had been sanctioned for operating in Venezuela's oil sector. The agency also revoked a general license that authorized certain transactions with two of the shipping companies, Marshall Islands-based Delos Voyager Shipping and its Delos Voyager and the Greece-based Romina Maritime and its Euroforce (see 2006180044). OFAC also removed designations from the Delos Voyager and Euroforce, along with the Marshall Islands-flagged vessel Voyager I, Marshall Islands-based Sanibel Shiptrade Ltd. and Adamant Maritime Ltd., and the Bahamas-flagged vessel Seahero, which were sanctioned June 2 (see 2006020024).
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on July 1 issued a reminder to industry to file annual reports on blocked property by Sept. 30. Companies that are “holders of blocked property” must provide OFAC with a list of all blocked property held as of June 30. Property that was unblocked by an OFAC license or was previously blocked by a sanctions program that was terminated before June 30 does not need to be reported, OFAC said. The notice includes a link to the 2020 blocked property report spreadsheet and an updated guidance on filing blocked property reports.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control likely did not understand the industry burdens imposed by the update to its reporting, procedures and penalties regulations (see 1906200036) and will probably narrow their scope, said Jason Rhoades, a KPMG sanctions lawyer and former OFAC compliance officer. The regulations, which were updated last year, expanded the scope of transactions that must be reported to OFAC, including for non-financial institutions. The update was met with widespread criticism from industry, which called them confusing, unclear and overly burdensome (see 1907290015 and 1907230054). OFAC issued a set of frequently asked questions in February to try to clarify the new requirements (see 2002200057).
The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned nine companies operating in Iran’s metals sector, including five subsidiaries of Iran-based Mobarakeh Steel Company, the agency said June 25. The sanctions target Mobarakeh Steel subsidiary Germany-based Tara Steel Trading GmbH; Mobarakeh majority-owned Iran-based Metil Steel; and Mobarakeh majority-owned Pacific Steel FZE, Better Future General Trading Co LLC and Tuka Metal Trading DMCC, all based in the United Arab Emirates. OFAC also designated Iran-based South Aluminum Company, Sirjan Jahan Steel Complex and Iran Central Iron Ore Company.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned the captains of five ships used by Iranian shipping lines to deliver Iranian gasoline to Venezuela, OFAC said in a June 24 news release. The ships belong to the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines and the National Iranian Tanker Company, both of which are sanctioned by OFAC. The sanctions target Ali Danaei Kenarsari, of the Clavel tanker; Mohsen Gohardehi, the Petunia; Alireza Rahnavard, the Fortune; Reza Vaziri, the Forest; and Hamidreza Yahya Zadeh, the Faxon.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control issued a technical notice June 22 informing industry of the agency’s upcoming annual renewal of the public certificate that secures its website. That renewal may impact OFAC sanctions list downloads “if your application pins or otherwise trusts the serial number of the existing certificate as part your application functionality.” OFAC said users “may need to update your configuration to trust the renewed certificate.” The certificate will be replaced at 9 p.m. on June 25 and will take about three to six hours for worldwide distribution, OFAC said. The notice contains a link to download the renewed public certificate. OFAC is advising users to make sure their applications trust the new certificate by the replacement date “to prevent loss in functionality.”
The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned three people, eight entities and two ships for evading U.S. sanctions against Venezuela, according to a June 18 press release. OFAC also issued a general license authorizing certain wind-down activities with two of the sanctioned entities and the two sanctioned ships.