The Treasury Department amended the Syrian Sanctions Regulations in recent days to authorize general licenses for non-restricted exports related to publishing, as well as a range of other affiliated activities. The Treasury slashes barriers for publishing exports and other activities “not already exempt from regulation, that support the publishing and marketing of manuscripts, books, journals, and newspapers in paper and electronic format,” said the agency’s Office of Foreign Assets Control in an April 13 final rule (here). The International Emergency Economic Powers Act already permits some publishing sector exports and activities to Syria, OFAC said. “OFAC is issuing a new general license set forth in 31 CFR 542.532 to authorize, subject to certain limitations, transactions not already exempt from regulation,” the final rule said. The general license eliminates restrictions on Export Administration Regulations-controlled “embedded software” and other controlled information and technology, said OFAC.

The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control added individuals to the Specially Designated Nationals list on April 7 (here) and 8 (here).

The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control notified the public on April 6 of a new formatting model for the Consolidated Sanctions List data files (here). The format is more advanced than previous XML formats, and it adheres to a United Nations-established standard, the agency said in a compilation of FAQs (here). The Consolidated Sanctions List draws together non-Specially Designated Nationals List entries, but both lists may ultimately share entries, OFAC says (here). The new file format is already in place with the SDN, said OFAC.

The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control deleted an entry from the Specially Designated Nationals list on April 3 (here).

Paypal agreed to settle in recent days a dispute with the Treasury Department over alleged, wide-ranging violations of the U.S. sanctions regime through the company’s facilitation of financial transactions. Paypal pledged to pay the Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control more than $7.5 million, but the company didn’t admit to or deny the accusations, which included violations of nearly every major U.S. sanctions law, such as those against Iran, Sudan and Cuba. The company will have to report to OFAC in six months on its sanctions compliance programs, the settlement said (here).

The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control added individuals and companies to the Specially Designated Nationals List, and dozens of Cuba-related entries in recent days (here and here).

The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control added an individual and entity to the Specially Designated Nationals list on March 18 (here):

Commerzbank will pay the Treasury Department $257 million as part of a settlement over sanctions violations, Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control said (here). The bank hid transactions to Iranian financial institutions, and routed such transactions through the U.S. from 2005-2010, said OFAC. The firm violated several sanctions regimes, the agency said.

The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control made changes to the Specially Designated Nationals List on Feb. 24 (here) and Feb. 26 (here).

The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control added an individual and entity to the Specially Designated Nationals list on Feb. 17 (here).