The State Department this week designated Ricardo Alberto Martinelli Berrocal, former president of Panama, for “significant corruption.” Martinelli pleaded guilty in 2021 for his role in a bribery scheme that violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (see 2112150016). The designation also applies to Martinelli's immediate family members.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned Horacio Manuel Cartes Jara and Hugo Adalberto Velazquez Moreno, the former president and current vice president of Paraguay, respectively, for significant corruption. The agency also sanctioned Tabacos USA Inc., Bebidas USA Inc., Dominicana Acquisition S.A. and Frigorifico Chajha S.A.E. for being owned by Cartes.

While companies should expect the U.S. to continue to coordinate trade restrictions with Europe this year, the EU, the U.K. and others may look to impose “broader” measures than the U.S. does as those nations try to strengthen their individual sanctions regimes, Willkie Farr said in a client alert this month. The firm also said the sanctions cooperation among many of the world’s democracies in 2022, particularly the trade restrictions imposed on Russia, “highlighted the divergence between governments and increased the demand on compliance teams.”

The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week designated three people for their financial support of Hezbollah, including Hassan Moukalled and his business CTEX Exchange. OFAC sanctioned Moukalled, a Lebanese money exchanger, and CTEX for working closely with Hezbollah financiers to help the group "establish a presence" in Lebanon's financial system. Moukalled serves as a financial adviser to Hezbollah and does business on behalf of the group, representing it in financial negotiations, the agency said. In addition, OFAC designated Moukalled's two sons, Rayyan and Rani, who OFAC said support their father and his business with Hezbollah.

Rosatom, a Russian state nuclear corporation, has worked to supply Russia’s defense industry with controlled components, technology and raw material for missile fuel, The Washington Post reported Jan. 20. The company has offered to provide goods to the Russian military and Russian weapons manufacturers that are subject to sanctions, the report said, including Almaz-Antey, a missile systems producer, and NPK Tekhmash, a manufacturer of unguided bombs and multiple missile launch systems. Although Rosatom has “long presented itself as a civilian entity operating nuclear power plants in commercial partnerships across the globe,” Russia’s war in Ukraine is “exposing how closely the company” is “intertwined” with Russia’s military-industrial complex, the report said. Rosatom told the paper all of its claims “are completely untrue.”

The U.S. plans to impose new sanctions on Russia’s Wagner Group this week, including by designating it a significant Transnational Criminal Organization, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters Jan. 20. Kirby said the sanctions will target the private military company’s support network “across multiple continents” and “recognize the transcontinental threat that Wagner poses, including through its ongoing pattern of serious criminal activity.”

The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week designated Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Cooperative Foundation along with five of its board members, Iran's deputy minister of intelligence and security, and four senior IRGC commanders.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control removed one individual, Hanna Khalifeh, across three separate entries from its Specially Designated Nationals List, according to a Jan. 19 announcement. Khalifeh was listed on the SDN List for counterterrorism reasons. OFAC didn't immediately provide more information.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control Jan. 17 again extended a general license that continues to delay an exemption that would authorize certain transactions related to Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A. General License 5J, which replaced GL 5I, now authorizes certain transactions with PdVSA involving an 8.5% bond on or after April 20. The agency also updated a frequently asked question to reflect the change. The previous license was set to allow those transactions to occur on or after Jan. 20.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week updated three Russia-related general licenses and four frequently asked questions.