The Treasury Department said Oct. 23 that it found about $9 billion in U.S.-related banking activity in 2024 that had possible ties to Iran's "shadow banking," which helps Iran-based exchange houses and foreign firms evade U.S. sanctions, sell oil and other commodities abroad, launder money and fund its military.
President Donald Trump last week pardoned Changpeng Zhao, the CEO of Binance, a virtual currency exchange that was fined billions of dollars in November 2023 for allegedly violating multiple U.S. sanctions programs and breaching anti-money-laundering laws (see 2311210076). At the time, Zhao pleaded guilty to failing to maintain an effective anti-money-laundering program in violation of the Bank Secrecy Act. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Oct. 23 that Trump was "exercising his constitutional authority" to pardon Zhao, calling it an "overly prosecuted case by the Biden administration."
The Office of Foreign Assets Control last week sanctioned Gustavo Francisco Petro Urrego, president of Colombia, for actions that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said have allowed drug cartels and traffickers to "flourish." OFAC also sanctioned Gustavo Petro’s eldest son, Nicolas Fernando Petro Burgos, who is considered to be his political heir; First Lady Veronica del Socorro Alcocer Garcia; and Armando Alberto Benedetti Villaneda, who has been appointed by Petro to multiple high-ranking positions within the Colombian government.
Most respondents to an Aerospace Industry Association survey on the AUKUS defense trade exemption said they view the change positively, although they believe the scope of the exemption may need to be expanded and the State Department’s Excluded Technology List should be revised. They also said the U.S., Australia and the U.K. should publish clearer guidance on the authorized user enrollment process to address “inconsistencies across the three jurisdictions.”
Chinese companies are likely to end up buying Nvidia chips despite reports that Beijing has ordered its top firms to cease those purchases, said Jake Sullivan, former national security adviser to President Joe Biden.
Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., has put forth several changes to try to soften opposition to a bill that would require U.S. manufacturers of advanced AI chips to make their products available to American firms before selling them to China and other "countries of concern," a supporter of such restrictions said Oct. 24.
The U.K. released a new general sanctions license to cover certain legal services from Oct. 29 through April 28. Part A of the license establishes that the payment of legal fees and expenses must be only for legal services relating to the representation of a sanctioned party that was entered into prior to the date of the sanctioned party's designation. Legal fees under Part A can't exceed $2.66 million. Part B lays out the conditions for use of the license for legal services that aren't "based on a prior obligation."
The U.K.'s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation is reminding traders to submit frozen asset reports to OFSI by Nov. 30 if they hold or control funds or economic resources belonging to or owned, held or controlled by a sanctioned person. Those reports should include details of all funds or economic resources frozen in the U.K. and overseas "where these funds or economic resources are subject to UK financial sanctions legislation," OFSI said in an Oct. 23 email to industry. The reports should also include the value of all those assets as of close of business on Sept. 30. "Where the funds or economic resources relate to shares, securities, or other debt or payment instruments, the GBP value should be provided in your report."
Beijing objected to the EU’s new Russia-related sanctions package, approved this week, saying it “strongly deplores and firmly rejects the EU’s repeated illicit unilateral sanctions against Chinese companies over Russia-related issues.” A Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson said the country “lodged protests with the EU side.”
Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, has been working with the Treasury Department to sanction Colombia's President Gustavo Petro and his "associates and enablers" for their suspected role in drug trafficking, the lawmaker said late Oct. 22.