The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week deleted various sanctions entries related to Iran, Syria and others, including some that were previously determined to be “sanctions evaders.” The agency also updated one North Korean sanctions entry. OFAC didn’t immediately provide more information on the decisions.
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.”
Allied export control authorities should be more nimble, harmonized and coordinated to maximize their effectiveness, particularly around Russia restrictions, said Kevin Wolf, a former senior U.S. export control official. In written comments last week to the U.K. Parliament’s arms export control committees, Wolf also said the U.K. and other countries can improve their export enforcement efforts against Russia, including by creating incentives for companies to “enhance” their compliance programs, dedicating more resources to study Russian sanctions evasion and working together to create a “standard structure of export control violations.”
Japan and the Netherlands have “agreed in principle” to join the U.S. in imposing certain new semiconductor export controls on China (see 2212080012), Bloomberg reported Dec. 12. The agreement, which will likely be announced in the “coming weeks,” will see Japan and the Netherlands “adopt at least some” of the restrictions announced by the Bureau of Industry and Security in October (see 2210070049), the report said. The two countries are planning to restrict exports of “machinery capable of fabricating 14-nanometer or more advanced chips to China,” the report said. A BIS spokesperson pointed to Undersecretary Alan Estevez's comments last week, when he said he remains confident U.S. allies will impose similar export restrictions against China (see 2212060059).
The U.S. and the EU didn’t appear to make much progress on export controls, investment screening and other pivotal areas of cooperation at the latest Trade and Technology Council meeting this month, experts with the Center for Strategic and International Studies said during a Dec. 12 event. The two sides still look to be closely aligned on Russia controls and sanctions, the speakers said, but until the TTC announces more concrete measures, it remains unclear how similarly they view restrictions on China.
The U.K. will implement a new sanctions regime on Haiti as part of its response to that nation's "ongoing political and security challenges," the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation announced. The regime will take effect Dec. 28, after which OFSI can add individuals or entities responsible for violence and insecurity in the country, "including extremely high levels of gang violence and other criminal activities." In a memorandum, OFSI said the sanctions on individuals and entities will amount to a travel ban, asset freeze and arms embargo. OFSI said the U.K. may also impose trade restrictions, including on military goods and technology.
In a flurry of sanctions moves, the U.K. last week added a host of individuals and entities to six different sanctions regimes. The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation added 10 entries to the Iran (human rights) regime, two to the South Sudan list, one to the Mali restrictions, three to the Myanmar regime, eight to the global human rights sanctions list and five to the global anti-corruption regime.
The U.K. added Ramil Rakhmatulovich Ibatullin to its Russia sanctions regime, the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation said in a Dec. 9 notice. Ibatullin, the commander of the 90th Tank Division, is now subject to an asset freeze and travel ban. In addition, OFSI corrected three entries for Maxim Loktev, Igor Yegorov and Denis Manturov.
The EU last week added eight people to its Democratic Republic of the Congo sanctions regime and extended the restrictions for another year. The eight include a member of the Congolese army, a DRC politician and a Belgian businessman, most of whom are accused of serious human rights violations and abuses for their role in the armed conflict in the DRC, the European Council said. Others were listed for benefiting from the conflict via the illegal exploitation of the natural resources trade. The renewal extends these sanctions until Dec. 12, 2023.