The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned four Zimbabweans and two Zimbabwean entities in an effort to tackle corruption in the country’s government. The agency also removed 17 Zimbabweans from its Specially Designated Nationals List because they “no longer undermine Zimbabwe’s democratic processes.”
The U.N. Security Council voted last week to establish a humanitarian carve-out across U.N. sanctions regimes, allowing nongovernmental organizations, banks and others an exemption for certain aid-related transactions involving sanctioned jurisdictions. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen applauded the new carve-out, which she said will allow “the flow of legitimate humanitarian assistance supporting the basic human needs of vulnerable populations while continuing to deny resources to malicious actors.”
Canada on Dec. 9 announced new sanctions on people and entities in Russia, Iran and Myanmar for human rights violations. The sanctions target 67 people and nine entities, including 33 current or former Russian senior officials and six entities involved in human rights violations against Russian citizens; 22 people “complicit in gross and systematic human rights violations” in Iran; and 12 people and three entities that “perform key functions on behalf of the Myanmar military regime.”
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Dec. 9. designated "a diverse array" of over 40 people and entities connected to corruption or human rights abuses in recognition of International Anti-Corruption Day and Human Rights Day. The sanctions target people and entities across nine countries, OFAC said.
The Office of Foreign Assets Controls designated Chinese fishing companies Dalian Ocean Fishing and Pingtan Marine Enterprise and their respective leaders, Li Zhenyu and Xinrong Zhuo, along with eight other affiliated entities and 157 vessels for serious human rights abuses related to Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing in violation of the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, according to a Dec. 9 news release.
The Treasury Department will prioritize most enforcement of its price cap on Russian oil against “willful violators,” a senior agency official stressed this week, reminding industry that due diligence and recordkeeping could significantly mitigate any potential penalties. Elizabeth Rosenberg, Treasury’s assistant secretary for terrorist financing and financial crimes, said the agency established its safe harbor protocol (see 2211230047) so it can target service providers intentionally looking to support Russia’s oil industry and protect those conducting good-faith sanctions compliance.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control designated a sanctions evasion network led by businessman Sitki Ayan that has allegedly facilitated hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of oil sales on behalf of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF), the agency said Dec. 8. The action supplements OFAC’s May 25 designations, which targeted a part of the network (see 2205250025).
The State Department should designate Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern, which would allow the U.S to impose certain sanctions or trade restrictions on it, Sens. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Josh Hawley, R-Mo., said. They said the State Department has “neglected” to designate Nigeria for the second straight year after removing the designation last year, saying the country tolerates “severe violations of religious freedom.”
Canada imposed another set of sanctions against people in Haiti for providing support to armed gangs in the country, Canada announced this week. The sanctions target three “high-profile members of the economic elite” in Haiti: Gilbert Bigio, Reynold Deeb and Sherif Abdallah. Canada said the people are using their status to “protect and enable the illegal activities of armed criminal gangs, including through money laundering and other acts of corruption.” Canada earlier this year sanctioned other Haitian political elites for supporting gangs (see 2211210026).
Canada recently imposed additional sanctions against Iran for its suppression of protesters, targeting four Iranian people and five entities “for their roles in the regime’s gross and systematic human rights violations and actions that continue to threaten international peace and security.” The sanctions target military officials Morteza Talaei and Hassan Karami; Ali Ghanaatkar Mavardiani, a senior judge prosecutor and interrogator; Iranian cargo and commercial airline Safiran Airport Services; technology research services company Baharestan Kish; and Javan News Agency. Also sanctioned were Paravar Pars Aerospace Engineering Services and Research, Design and Manufacturing of Aircraft Engines, and Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi.