The U.S. won't remove sanctions from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in return for Iran's return to compliance under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, State Department spokesperson Ned Price told reporters Aug. 15. Price said the U.S. is still willing to pursue a "mutual return to compliance" to the JCPOA, but Iran must drop some of its "extraneous" demands that "go beyond" the scope of the nuclear talks, including a request for the U.S. to lift IRGC's designation as a foreign terrorist organization.

The State Department last week designated Paraguay's Vice President Hugo Velazquez and Juan Carlos “Charly” Duarte, legal counsel for the Yacyreta Bi-National Entity, for “significant” corruption. The agency said Duarte offered a bribe to a Paraguayan public official to “obstruct an investigation that threatened” the vice president and his finances. The State Department also designated Velazquez’s immediate family members: Lourdes Maria Andrea Samaniego Gonzalez, Dionicio Adalberto Velazquez Gimenez, Sonya Rebeca Velazquez Escauriza and Hugo Jose Velazquez Escauriza. Also designated were Duarte’s immediate family members: Ninfa Concepcion Vera Moreira and Tamara Duarte Martinez.

The U.K.’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation this week corrected one entry on its North Korea sanctions list. OFSI corrected the entry for Mun Cho’ng-Ch’o’l, an official with North Korea’s Tanchon Commercial Bank. Cho’ng-Ch’o’l remains subject to an asset freeze.

The U.K.’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation this week amended 27 entries on its Russia sanctions list. The entries, which include military officials, are still subject to asset freezes.

The State Department this week released a report to Congress of people in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua who may be engaging in corruption or undermining democratic processes. The individuals, who include senior government officials, will be subject to visa restrictions and could face other sanctions.

The State Department designated two Belarusian government officials for their “significant role” in the country’s 2020 disputed presidential election and human rights violations, the agency said this week. The designations target Mikalai Karpiankou, deputy minister of internal affairs and a military commander, and Dzmitriy Balaba, commander of the Special Task Police Force of the Minsk City Executive Committee of Internal Affairs. The State Department also imposed visa restrictions on 100 Belarusian “regime officials” for “impeding the transition to democracy in Belarus.”

The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Aug. 8 sanctioned Tornado Cash, a virtual currency mixer that the agency said has been used to launder more than $7 billion worth of virtual currency since it was created in 2019. OFAC said the mixer has been used to launder money stolen by North Korea’s Lazarus Group and other criminal groups. Tornado cash operates on the “Ethereum blockchain” and “indiscriminately facilitates anonymous transactions by obfuscating their origin, destination, and counterparties, with no attempt to determine their origin,” OFAC said.

New Zealand this month issued a new set of sanctions against Russia’s military and weapons manufacturers, including designations targeting various branches and independent arms of the country’s armed forces. The sanctions also target defense entities responsible for providing logistical support and weapons to Russia’s military as well as the Russian insurance company SOGAZ, Russian Railways and defense entities that research, produce and test military hardware.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week published three previously issued general licenses in the Federal Register related to Syria, Iran and Venezuela (see 2206100030). The licenses, which expire June 17, 2023, authorize certain transactions related to goods and services for preventing, diagnosing or combating COVID-19.

The EU last week sanctioned two additional people associated with Russia’s war in Ukraine. The designations target Viktor Fedorovych Yanukovych, a Russia supporter and former president of Ukraine, and Oleksandr Viktorovych Yanukovych, his son.