The U.S. and the U.K. this week announced new sanctions against Hamas officials, people and entities helping to finance the terror group’s operations in Gaza, the Treasury Department said.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned an Iraqi airline, its CEO and others with ties to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force. The agency said they have helped to deliver shipments to the IRGC-QF or have helped launder money and support Kata’ib Hizballah, an IRGC-QF militia in Iraq.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control last week released another video in its ongoing effort to provide guidance on U.S. sanctions programs and rules. The latest episode, released Jan. 19, features a tutorial on how to use OFAC’s Sanctions List Search Tool. The agency has released other videos as part of an “Introduction to OFAC” series, which is meant to provide an overview of the agency’s sanctions requirements (see 2307280070 and 2308280047).
Jalal Hajavi of Virginia was sentenced to two years in prison and three years of supervised release after he illegally exported heavy equipment from the U.S. to Iran, DOJ announced this week. Hajavi also misled a U.S. freight forwarder about the “ultimate destination” of the shipment, DOJ said, which caused the forwarder to file false export information to the Commerce Department.
The Treasury Department declined a request by the two leaders of the House Foreign Affairs Committee to impose Global Magnitsky sanctions against leading Chinese surveillance company Hikvision for human rights violations, Chair Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, said this week.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week renewed a Russia-related general license that authorizes certain transactions involving the Russian Federation's Central Bank, Wealth Fund and Ministry of Finance. General License No. 13H, which replaced 13G, now authorizes those transactions, including taxes, fees, or import duties, through 12:01 a.m. EDT April 17. The license was set to expire Jan. 31.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned United Arab Emirates-based shipping company Hennesea Holdings Limited for violating the price cap on Russian oil. OFAC also added 17 previously undesignated vessels owned by Hennesea to its Specially Designated Nationals List and redesignated one vessel, the HS Atlantica, which the agency first sanctioned in December for illegally moving Russian oil (see 2312010023).
The House Foreign Affairs Committee is renewing a push to pass a bipartisan bill that could expand the Treasury Department’s upcoming outbound investment prohibitions to cover more Chinese technology sectors and additional countries. But some lawmakers disagree on the best way to scope U.S. investment restrictions under the bill, arguing that they should be imposed through individual sanctions on specific entities rather than on whole technology industries.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Jan. 17 deleted nine Guatemala-related entries on its Specially Designated Nationals List, including entries relating to the Guatemalan Nickel Company, also known as Compania Guatemalteca de Niquel. The entity was designated in 2022 for being a subsidiary of Russia-based Solway Investment group, which OFAC said has “exploited” Guatemalan mines for years. The agency didn’t provide more information on the reasons for the delistings.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned Alberto Pimentel Mata, Guatemala’s former energy and mining minister, for exploiting the country’s mining sector through “widespread bribery schemes” involving government contracts and mining licenses. OFAC said he reportedly accepted “large” monthly payments in exchange for certain permits, took bribes in exchange for accepting contracting bids, retaliated against companies that didn’t bribe him and more. The agency said Pimentel resigned from the government in July last year.