The Office of Foreign Assets Control has substantially increased its sanctions advisory output in recent years, a trend likely to continue, according to Castellum, a technology company that operates an automated compliance screening service. OFAC issued 10 sanctions advisories in the past two years, including four this year, compared with nine advisories in the previous eight years, the company said Nov. 15. “This emphasis on advisories, across both democratic and republican administrations, shows that this public-facing tool is here to stay and will be used more frequently,” Castellum said. The company also said the increased number of sanctions could allow OFAC to justify larger penalties for sanctions violations, “because those that are subject to enforcement actions will have had significant public warning.” OFAC most recently issued a guidance to help the virtual currency industry navigate U.S. sanctions (see 2110150069).
The Biden administration should impose sanctions against Nord Stream 2 and the company behind the gas pipeline project, European security experts said. Several called the U.S.’s May sanctions waiver (see 2105200055) a mistake and urged Congress to keep pushing the administration to impose sanctions before the pipeline is operational.
Christian Ford, former deputy assistant attorney general in the Department of Justice Office of Legal Policy, has joined DLA Piper as a partner in the Washington, D.C.-based litigation practice, the firm announced. Previously serving in multiple roles at DOJ and as counsel at the Defense Department, Ford oversaw a portfolio that included national security, law enforcement, terrorism and violent crime prevention, the firm said. He also worked as a prosecutor in DOJ's Counterintelligence and Export Control Section, managing investigations affecting national security.
The Danish Financial Supervisory Authority found that dealing with Danske Bank carries an inherent risk that the bank's customers will breach international sanctions, due in large part to the bank's lack of due diligence procedures, the Danish FSA said Nov. 16. The Danish FSA said its anti-money laundering inspection of the bank found serious holes in the bank's procedures.
The Commerce Department again renewed a temporary export denial order for Mahan Airways because the airline continues to violate the order and the Export Administration Regulations, according to a Nov. 17 notice. The Iranian airline has been on the banned list since 2008. The latest renewal is for 180 days from Nov. 17.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned a senior Houthi military officer for contributing to the “instability and increasing the already extraordinary suffering of the Yemeni people,” the agency said Nov. 18. The designation targets Saleh Mesfer Alshaer, commander of the Houthi-controlled military logistics support organization. OFAC said Alshaer is the “judicial custodian” of assets seized from Houthi opponents and oversees the group’s seizure of more than $100 million worth of Yemeni property.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control last week sanctioned six Iranians and one Iranian entity for trying to influence the 2020 U.S. presidential election. OFAC said they “sought to sow discord and undermine voters’ faith in the U.S. electoral process” through misinformation on social media, “threatening emails” and a video implying that “individuals could cast fraudulent ballots.” The designations targeted the Iranian cyber company Emennet Pasargad, its manager Mohammad Bagher Shirinkar and others affiliated with the company: Seyyed Mohammad Hosein Musa Kazemi, Sajjad Kashian, Mostafa Sarmadi, Seyyed Mehdi Hashemi Toghroljerdi and Hosein Akbari Nodeh. OFAC said it previously designated Shirinkar for supporting the Iranian military and previously sanctioned Emennet Pasargad under its former name: Net Peygard Samavat Co.
A bipartisan group of lawmakers is pushing for both the House and the Senate to include a range of sanctions bills in the annual defense policy legislation, which they say would further penalize international corruption and U.S. enablers of that corruption.
The United Kingdom extended its Belarus sanctions regime to the Isle of Man in an order that entered into effect Nov. 11. Effective that same day, the U.K. in a separate order extended its Belarus sanctions to apply to all its overseas territories, save Bermuda and Gibraltar, which impose sanctions through domestic legislation.
The European Union Nov. 18 announced countries that had aligned with the bloc's restrictive measures responding to developments in Ukraine. The countries are: Montenegro, Albania, Norway and Ukraine, which imposed the restrictive measures that added eight individuals subject to the sanctions regime for people who undermine or threaten the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine.