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.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned Dubai-based Oceanlink Maritime DMCC, along with 13 of its ships, for helping to transport Iranian commodities for the country’s military. OFAC said Oceanlink has used its vessels to generate revenue for Iran, including through the Hecate, a vessel the company used to load more than $100 million worth of Iranian commodities through a ship-to-ship transfer from another sanctioned tanker, the Dover.
Sanctions compliance professionals should familiarize themselves with several advisories authorities recently issued to help spot “dark fleet” vessels that seek to evade the price cap on Russian oil sales or oil sanctions on Iran and Venezuela, experts said April 4 during a webinar hosted by the Association of Certified Sanctions Specialists.
Jason Prince, former chief counsel for the Office of Foreign Assets Control, has joined Akin Gump's economic sanctions practice, the law firm announced April 3. Prince was most recently a sanctions and export controls lawyer with Crowell & Moring after leaving OFAC in 2022.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on April 2 removed sanctions from VTB Bank Europe, the European subsidiary of Russian state-owned VTB Bank.
Beijing is looking to grow Renminbi-based financial networks to create an alternative to the dollar-dominated global financial system, which could help the country shield itself from some Western sanctions if it invades Taiwan, researchers and policy experts said this week. Although China isn’t yet ready to rely on those networks, that could change within several years, experts said.
U.S. companies interested in divesting Russian assets that are subject to the Export Administration Regulations may need to obtain multiple licenses from the U.S. government, a Commerce Department official said March 28.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week delisted a Netherlands-based entity that it had sanctioned in 2022 for being owned by Dutch national Alex Adrianus Martinus Peijnenburg. OFAC said Peijnenburg ran an illegal dark web drug trafficking network. The announcement removed the entity Bellizo from the Specially Designated Nationals List.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned six people and two entities based in Russia, China and the United Arab Emirates for helping to generate revenue or process financial transactions for North Korea.
The U.S. and the U.K. this week sanctioned Mustafa Ayash and Aozma Sultana, the founders of companies that fundraise on behalf of the terror group Hamas. The U.S. also sanctioned the companies: Gaza Now, which is owned by Ayash, and Al-Qureshi Executives and Aakhirah Limited, operated by Sultana.