The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned United Arab Emirates-based Indian national Jugwinder Singh Brar for owning multiple shipping companies that operate a fleet of vessels helping Iran move sanctioned goods. OFAC designated his UAE-based companies Prime Tankers LLC and Glory International FZ-LLC, along with India-based companies Global Tankers Private Limited and B and P Solutions Private Limited, and more than 30 vessels with ties to the companies or Brar.
Landon Heid, President Donald Trump’s nominee to be assistant secretary of commerce for export administration (see 2502120020), said April 10 that he wants the Bureau of Industry and Security to wage a “continuous battle every single day” to prevent China from obtaining restricted U.S. technology.
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.
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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.