The Biden administration is preparing to relax sanctions against Venezuela and the Nicolas Maduro regime to allow Chevron to resume oil activities in the country, The Wall Street Journal reported Oct. 5. The decision to loosen sanctions, which is still under discussion and may “fall through,” could eventually lead to the reopening of U.S. and European markets for Venezuelan oil, the report said. In exchange for the lifting of sanctions, the U.S. would expect Venezuela to resume talks with the country’s opposition party to discuss holding free and fair presidential elections in 2024, the report said. “There are no plans to change our sanctions policy without constructive steps from the Maduro regime,” Adrienne Watson, National Security Council spokesperson, told WSJ. The White House didn’t respond to a request for comment.
The U.N. Security Council this week added one entry to its sanctions list and amended three others. The council added Ahmad al-Hamzi, commander of the Houthi Air Force and Air Defense Forces (see 2210050010). It also revised entries for Mahri Sidi Amar Ben Daha, Mohamed Ben Ahmed Mahri and Mohamed Ould Mataly.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Oct. 6 sanctioned seven Iranian government officials responsible for the country's internet shutdown and Myanmar businesspeople for supporting the Myanmar military.
The U.K. recently delisted the sanctions listing for Sergei Stanislavovich Yeliseyev and added a listing for Sergei Vladimirovich Yeliseyev, the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation said in a notice. Sergei Stanislavovich Yeliseyev, a vice-admiral of the Russian Navy, was listed on Sept. 26. The delisting is effective Oct. 4, and the individual is no longer subject to an asset freeze. Sergei Vladimirovich Yeliseyev is the deputy prime minister of Kaliningrad and currently serving as the head of the Russian-occupied Kherson oblast. His listing and asset freeze began Oct. 4.
The EU on Oct. 5 approved a new sanctions package to target Russia for its war in Ukraine, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced. The sanctions, which will take effect once they are published in the Official Journal of the EU, include a price cap on Russian oil and additional designations against Russian government officials (see 2209290025). The EU also will impose more trade restrictions on steel and technology products, Reuters reported.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned two people and one business in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina for “enabling divisive and destabilizing activities” in the Western Balkans. The designations target the federation's Prime Minister Fadil Novalic, who “misused pensioner data for the benefit of his own political party.” OFAC also sanctioned Slobodan Stankovic, one of the country’s wealthiest people, and his company Integral Inzenjering A.D. Laktasi, which has been awarded large projects due “to its proximity” to leadership. The agency previously sanctioned Diana Kajmakovic, a state prosecutor in Bosnia and Herzegovina, for corruption (see 2209260025).
Canada last week announced more sanctions against Russia after Moscow held “sham referendums” in an attempt to annex additional Ukrainian territories. The sanctions target 43 Russian oligarchs, “financial elites” and family members, as well as 35 Russian government officials. Canada also imposed restrictions on “certain business dealings,” including investment and export controls, involving the Russian occupied areas of the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions.
Australia announced new sanctions Oct. 2 on Russia for its war in Ukraine, including financial sanctions on an additional 28 people. Australia also said its ban on the import, purchase or transfer of Russian gold took effect Sept. 30 (see 2208150009). “These additional sanctions reinforce Australia's strong objection to the actions of President Putin and those carrying out his orders,” said Penny Wong, the country’s foreign affairs minister.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control amended and reissued the Libyan Sanctions Regulations to include more guidance, definitions, general licenses and “other regulatory provisions that will provide further guidance to the public,” OFAC said. Effective Oct. 3, the new regulations replace the previous regulations published in 2011 in “abbreviated form."
The Treasury Department released a list of countries that require or may require participation in, or cooperation with, an international boycott. Listed are Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Yemen. The list is unchanged from the previous version (see 2207110039).