The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned people, companies and ships for helping to transport oil and commodities on behalf of the Iranian military and for Sa’id al-Jamal, an Iranian-backed financial facilitator for the Yemen-based Houthis. OFAC said the companies and ships have moved goods to Yemen and the United Arab Emirates, helping finance the Houthis’ “reckless targeting” of commercial shipping in the Red Sea.
President Joe Biden extended a national emergency that authorizes certain export control regulations, the White House said this week. Biden renewed the emergency for one year beyond Aug. 17.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control issued a new general license this week authorizing certain transactions involving Hong Kong-based VPower Finance Security, a company sanctioned by OFAC in June for its role in a scheme to transport Russian gold and convert it into other currencies. General License 102 authorizes transactions that are “ordinarily incident and necessary to the transportation, delivery, or storage of currency; cash processing services; or maintenance" of ATMS within Hong Kong involving VPower. Those transactions are authorized through 12:01 a.m. EST Nov. 12.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Aug. 12 again extended a general license that continues to delay an exemption that would authorize certain transactions related to Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A. General License 5P, which replaced GL 5O, now authorizes certain transactions with PdVSA involving an 8.5% bond on or after Nov. 12. The previous license was set to allow those transactions to occur on or after Aug. 13.
The Biden administration is “reviewing closely” the requirements of new laws authorizing sanctions on Iranian oil and “will ensure the rigorous implementation of their provisions” as they take effect, a State Department official recently told a lawmaker.
The U.K. issued a new general license Aug. 9 authorizing certain payments and "other permitted activities" related to the insolvency proceedings involving East-West United Bank. The bank is based in Luxembourg but is owned by Russian conglomerate Sistema, which decided to close the bank after Western countries imposed sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. The license allows any individual or entity to "make, receive, or process any payments, or take any other action, in connection with the Insolvency Proceedings." The license expires Aug. 8, 2029.
The Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network announced it’s running nationwide television and radio public service announcements to help inform small and medium-sized businesses about upcoming requirements to report certain beneficial ownership information to the agency. The announcement comes after lawmakers criticized FinCEN for not doing enough to inform American companies about the new rules (see 2402140044 and 2407090053), which will require businesses to submit information on who owns and controls them as part of a government-led effort to prevent sanctioned parties and other criminal actors from hiding money or property in the U.S. (see 2312210017).
Russian companies have bought millions of dollars worth of drone parts from China-based drone accessories supplier Tarot-RC, risk advisory firm Kharon said Aug. 6. Kharon said the parts were made by Chinese company Wenzhou Feiyue Aviation Technology Co. and have been shipped into Russia in “significant quantities” since the start of 2023 despite claims by Tarot-RC “that it does not engage in such activity.” Trade records and other public data “contradict that assertion, pointing to a consistent influx of Tarot-RC components into Russia, both through direct shipments from Wenzhou Feiyue Aviation Technology Co. and through intermediaries that move products from China and Hong Kong into Russia,” Kharon said.
Lithuania's customs authority fined an unnamed Lithuania-registered export company over $14.8 million for violating EU sanctions, according to an unofficial translation. The company exported vehicles to Russia through Kazakhstan, Belarus and Turkey, and “did not ensure compliance with the restrictions and obligations set by the international sanctions implemented in the Republic of Lithuania,” the customs agency said, adding that it detained and seized six “tractor semi-trailers.” It also said this “is not the first time that such sanctions have been applied to companies for violations of the law on international sanctions,” but didn’t provide more details.
The Biden administration has targeted financial networks that support Hezbollah by conducting five rounds of sanctions against 21 people since October 2023, a State Department spokesperson said Aug. 8.