The State Department should clarify that the U.S. will reimpose a range of sanctions against Venezuela's oil and gold sectors if the Nicolas Maduro-led regime doesn’t begin lifting electoral bans on opposition presidential candidates by the end of November, Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, said in a letter to the agency this week.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week released updated Russia-related General License 76A, which replaces General License 76, to clarify that the license applies to Public Joint Stock Company Saint Petersburg Exchange. OFAC said the license previously listed the entity’s name as “Saint Petersburg Stock Exchange.” The license “otherwise remains unchanged,” OFAC said.
The U.S., Canada and other nations can make sanctions screening efforts by banks and other financial institutions more efficient by addressing certain privacy laws, said Stephen Alsace, global head of economic sanctions for the Royal Bank of Canada. If all financial institutions were able to share more information about certain transactions, it could reduce redundancies during the sanctions compliance process and allow payments to be screened and processed faster, Alsace said.
The U.K. added 29 entries to the Russia sanctions regime Nov. 8, targeting Russian gold refiners and producers as well as international networks supporting the country's gold, oil, finance and defense sectors. The country's National Crime Agency also issued a new alert to make financial institutions aware of how Russia is using gold to evade sanctions.
The Canadian government should release more sanctions guidance to lower the business uncertainty that has spiked since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year and the implementation of Canada’s new deemed ownership rules in June, lawyers said at a conference this week. A Canadian official said the government is working on guidance but stressed that the wide scope of the country’s sanctions laws, particularly against Russia, is unlikely to change.
Japan's Ministry for Economy, Trade and Industry on Nov. 8 released an updated set of frequently asked questions regarding the customs clearance process for electronic export licenses and paper licenses, according to an unofficial translation. The ministry said certain paper applications must be postmarked by June 30. The FAQs also offer guidance on customs clearance procedures involving the Nippon Automated Cargo and Port Consolidated System.
DOJ-Commerce Department Disruptive Technology Strike Force senior officials traveled to Ukraine last week to speak with Ukrainian officials about Russia-related export enforcement and ways the two sides can better share information. The delegation -- which included Matthew Axelrod, Commerce’s top export enforcement official, and Matthew Olsen, the head of DOJ’s National Security Division -- spoke about efforts to “stop the flow of sensitive technologies to aid the Russian war machine,” the Bureau of Industry and Security said in a readout of the meetings.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned 13 Sinaloa Cartel members and four Mexican companies for their ties to fentanyl trafficking. The designations, coordinated with the Mexican government, target several high-ranking cartel officials, including Sinaloa's Sonora-based “plaza boss” Juan Carlos Morgan Huerta and his adult family members.
Multinational banks are more often choosing not to authorize payments involving sanctioned jurisdictions or people, even if those payments are authorized by a general license or not subject to restrictions, said Richard Newcomb, a DLA Piper lawyer and former director for the Office of Foreign Assets Control. “Even if authorized, banks increasingly will not process a transaction involving or touching a sanctioned country or do business with anyone that has unlawfully done business with a sanctioned person or country,” Newcomb said.
The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls sent a proposed rule for interagency review that could amend certain language in the International Traffic in Arms Regulations. The rule, sent for review Nov. 5, would specifically make revisions to definitions and export controls related to defense services.