The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week published previously issued general licenses under its Global Terrorism Sanctions Regulations and two sets of licenses under its Venezuela sanctions program. The full text of each license appears in the respective notice.
Experts disagreed on the effectiveness of the Russian oil price cap during a Feb. 13 panel discussion hosted by the Atlantic Council.
Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo met with a group of sanctions experts last week to discuss the “effects and successes” of the global sanctions and export controls imposed against Russia, the agency said in a news release. In the “weeks and months ahead,” Adeyemo said the agency will “focus on countering sanctions evasion, including by targeting facilitators and third-country providers that may wittingly or unwittingly help Russia replenish the supplies and material it desperately needs to support its military.” The experts “provided their thoughts on how best to achieve that goal,” Treasury said.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control designated five current or former Bulgarian government officials for "extensive involvement in corruption" in Bulgaria, according to a Feb. 10 press release. OFAC also sanctioned five entities controlled by two of the targeted officials in an action that OFAC said builds on the office's 2021 designations of six Bulgarians and 64 entities (see 2106020026).
The Office of Foreign Assets Control last week issued Syria-related General License 23, which authorizes through 12:01 p.m. EDT Aug. 8 all transactions related to earthquake relief efforts in Syria that would otherwise be prohibited by the Syrian Sanctions Regulations, 31 CFR part 542 (SySR). The license does not authorize importation of petroleum or petroleum products of Syrian origin into the U.S. or any transactions involving any person blocked pursuant to the SySR, other than the Syrian government. U.S. sanctions programs do not target legitimate humanitarian assistance, OFAC said.
Last year was a “historically busy” period for new trade controls, and that pace “shows few signs of slowing” this year, Gibson Dunn said in a 2022 export control and sanctions recap released this week. The recap provides an overview of last year’s raft of new sanctions and export controls against Russia, China, Iran and others; the Bureau of Industry and Security’s new administrative enforcement policies (see 2206300069 and 2205230018); the State Department’s new compliance program guidelines (see 2212060015 and 2212210049); Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. actions; trade restrictions imposed by the EU and U.K.; and more.
The U.S. and the U.K. sanctioned seven members of the Russia-based cybercrime gang Trickbot, the countries announced Feb 9. The restrictions were simultaneously imposed by both countries in the "first wave of new coordinated action against international cyber crime," the U.K.'s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation said. The designations target Mikhail Iskritskiy, Valentin Karyagin, Vitaliy Kovalev, Maksim Mikhailov, Dmitry Pleshevskiy, Valery Sedletski and Ivan Vakhromeyev.
Despite reports Russia has found ways to evade sanctions and export controls, those trade restrictions are working, experts said during a Feb. 8 panel discussion hosted by the Atlantic Council. At least one official said the sanctions will need continual tuning to remain effective.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control designated nine entities related to the production, sale and shipment of Iranian petrochemicals and petroleum to Asian buyers, including in China, according to a Feb. 9 news release.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control designated two MS-13 leaders in Central America for actions related to drug trafficking and contract killing, according to a Feb. 8 news release.