President Joe Biden issued a new executive order to expand existing U.S. sanctions authorities against Belarus and issued a host of new designations targeting the country’s government for last year’s “fraudulent” presidential elections. The Aug. 9 order authorizes sanctions against a broad range of government officials, oligarchs, entities and private companies, including those operating in Belarus’ defense, energy, security, potassium chloride, transportation and construction sectors. Sanctions are also authorized against people or entities with links to “public corruption” in Belarus or transactions deemed to be “deceptive or structured” to evade U.S. sanctions on behalf of the Belarusian government.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control July 27 released more than 30 Ukraine-related web general licenses that have expired or are nearing expiration. The licenses include numerous iterations for General License No. 13, which authorized certain transactions with specific blocked entities related to Ukraine, and General License No. 15, which authorized certain transactions with GAZ Group and its subsidiaries. The most recent versions of GL 13 and 15 are scheduled to expire in January 2022 (see 2012230066).
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on July 20 extended a general license related to Petroleos de Venezuela and updated a frequently asked question to reflect the change. General License No. 5G, which replaced No. 5F (see 2012230066), now authorizes certain transactions with PdVSA involving an 8.5% bond on or after Oct. 21, 2021.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control published previously expired Ukraine-related general licenses to provide their full texts. Released July 16, the notices include Ukraine-Related Web General License 12, 14 and their “subsequent iterations.”
The Bureau of Industry and Security added six Russian entities to the Entity List for activities that threaten U.S. national security and foreign policy, the agency said in notice. The entities operate in Russia’s technology sector and support the country’s intelligence services, BIS said. The Treasury Department sanctioned all six companies in February under President Joe Biden’s executive order that targeted Russia’s defense and technology sectors and its attempts to influence foreign elections (see 2104150019). BIS also corrected one existing Russian entry on the Entity List. The rule is effective July 19.
The Treasury Department issued a new general license authorizing certain exports and reexports of oil to the Venezuelan government and Petroleos de Venezuela, the country’s state-run energy company. General License No. 40, issued July 12, authorizes transactions related to indirect or direct exports and reexports of liquefied natural gas to PdVSA and any entity it owns by 50% or more. The transactions are authorized through 12:01 a.m. July 8, 2022.
A shift toward list-based sanctions and a rise in federal government compliance expectations are causing increasing challenges for the compliance community, compliance professionals said. At the center of those challenges are the designations imposed by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, which is setting a high bar for due diligence by more clearly describing its compliance expectations in settlement agreements.
The U.S. and several allies announced a host of new sanctions against people and entities responsible for the Belarusian government’s disputed 2020 presidential election and recent human rights abuses. The sanctions, coordinated with Canada, the European Union and the United Kingdom, also target Belarus and President Alexander Lukashenko’s government for the forced diversion of a commercial plane last month to arrest a journalist, the U.S. Treasury and State Department said June 21. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control also issued a new general license to authorize certain transactions with Belarus and published additional sanctions guidance.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control issued guidance and three new general licenses to expand humanitarian-related exemptions for shipments and activities in sanctioned countries. The licenses apply to Iran, Syria and Venezuela and are accompanied by six new frequently asked questions to “further support the critical work” of humanitarian and COVID-19 aid to people in sanctioned regions. The guidance comes amid criticism from humanitarian groups that U.S. sanctions continue to inadvertently block aid shipments (see 2105260047 and 2105280004).
The Commerce Department published its spring 2021 regulatory agenda for the Bureau of Industry and Security, including two new mentions of emerging technology rules and new export controls on certain camera systems.