Vietnam Beverage Company Limited reached an $860,000 settlement with the Office of Foreign Assets Control after the agency said two of the company’s subsidiaries violated U.S. sanctions against North Korea. OFAC said the subsidiaries, which produce and sell alcoholic drinks, illegally received more than $1.4 million in payments through U.S. banks for sales of alcohol to North Korea.
Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., and Maria Salazar, R-Fla., introduced a bill Oct. 15 that would prohibit U.S. firms from doing certain business with Venezuela’s energy sector, including its state-owned oil company, until President Nicolas Maduro concedes he lost the July 28 election.
The U.S. this week sanctioned people and companies involved in a sanctions evasion network for the terror group Hezbollah and others that help produce and transport Captagon, an addictive amphetamine, to help fund the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria.
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The Office of Foreign Assets Control is asking users of its website to fill out a survey that will give OFAC feedback on how it can streamline the site’s navigation and ensure users can get "the most current and relevant" sanctions data. The survey will also help in "informing the development of innovative applications and resources."
The Office of Foreign Assets Control declined to renew two Russia-related licenses that had authorized certain transactions related to Russia’s Moscow Exchange, National Clearing Center and National Settlement Depository (see 2406120036), warning in guidance last week that it planned to let the licenses expire 12:01 a.m. EDT Oct. 12.
The U.S. last week expanded an Iran-related sanctions authority to target the country’s petroleum and petrochemical sectors and designated a host of entities and vessels that it said have shipped or traded Iranian oil products.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned Algoney Hamdan Daglo Musa, the procurement director of the Rapid Support Forces, a Sudanese militant group warring with the Sudanese Armed Forces. OFAC said he leads RSF efforts to procure weapons and other military items, prolonging a war that has killed thousands of people, displaced millions and has led to “emergency levels of hunger” within Sudan. “The United States will continue to hold accountable those who seek to prolong this conflict and restrict access to vital humanitarian assistance at a time of famine and fragility,” said Brad Smith, the Treasury Department’s acting undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned three people and a “sham charity” that it said are international financial supporters of the terror group Hamas. It also designated a “longstanding” Hamas supporter and nine of his businesses for their ties to the group. OFAC said they each “play critical roles in external fundraising” for Hamas, often by disguising their support as charity.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week made several revisions to a May rule that updated its reporting, procedures and penalties regulations (see 2405080023), and offered guidance on how banks and their customers should treat cases in which a bank accidentally blocks funds because of mistaken identity or other errors.