China voiced its opposition to the U.S.'s recent sanctions move on Iran, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said during a regular press conference Sept. 30 in Beijing, according to a transcript provided in English. The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Sept. 29 sanctioned a group of companies that have sold hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of Iranian petrochemicals and petroleum goods to end users in Asia (see 2209290045). The companies included Hong Kong-based Sierra Vista Trading and China-based Zhonggu Storage and Transportation and WS Shipping. The spokesperson said China always stands opposed to unilateral sanctions, and said the country has "conducted normal cooperation with Iran within the framework for international law." The spokesperson said the U.S. must ditch its practice of using sanctions "at every turn" and do more to reimpose the Iran nuclear deal.
Exxon Mobil is urging the Biden administration not to place restrictions on fuel exports, saying the controls would hurt global supply and increase domestic gas prices, The Wall Street Journal reported Sept. 30. In a letter sent to the Energy Department last week, Exxon said fuel exports from the Gulf Coast are “essential to efficiently rebalance markets -- particularly with diverted Russian supplies,” adding that “[r]educing global supply by limiting U.S. exports to build region-specific inventory will only aggravate the global supply shortfall.” The energy company said fuel export restrictions won’t help fill tanks in U.S. regions that need more supplies, but would only “create a glut in the Gulf Coast that would lead refineries to cut output," the report said.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control amended and reissued the Libyan Sanctions Regulations to include more guidance, definitions, general licenses and “other regulatory provisions that will provide further guidance to the public,” OFAC said. Effective Oct. 3, the new regulations replace the previous regulations published in 2011 in “abbreviated form."
The Office of Foreign Assets Control is seeking public comments on an information collection related to its requirements surrounding remittance forwarding services to Cuba. The collection includes information on recordkeeping requirements. Comments are due Dec. 2.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Sept. 30 published a sanctions compliance guidance for instant payment systems, outlining various risk factors, compliance solutions and other considerations for financial institutions that use the systems. The guidance also includes a set of “key compliance features” that should be incorporated into instant payment systems.
The U.S. and Israel last week held the first meeting of a new forum that aims to increase collaboration on emerging technologies. The meeting resulted in a “workplan” that will help “manage risks to our respective technology ecosystems, including in research security, export controls, and investment screening,” the White House said. The next meeting of the U.S.-Israel Strategic High-Level Dialogue on Technology will be held in Israel in 2023, where the two countries “look forward to reviewing progress on cooperation.”
The Office of Foreign Assets Control fined Washington-based Tango Card $116,048.60 for violating U.S. sanctions as a result of its “deficient geolocation identification processes,” the agency said last week. OFAC said Tango Card, an electronic gift and reward services company, violated U.S. sanctions related to the Crimea region of Ukraine and sanctions imposed against Cuba, Iran, Syria and North Korea.
The U.S. last week announced a host of new sanctions and export controls against Russia, targeting Russian defense and technology companies, Russian government officials and various suppliers for supporting the country's military. The measures include hundreds of new designations and 57 additions to the Entity List, most of which will be subject to certain foreign direct product rule restrictions.
The U.K. amended seven entries under its Russia sanctions regime, the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation said in a Sept. 28 notice. The entries for Alexander Dmitrievich Kharichev, Denis Sergeevich Kurashov, Mikhail Valentinovich Kovalchuk, Iskander Kakhramonovich Makhmudov, Mikhail Leonidovich Rodikov, Oleksandr Saulenko and Andrey Veniaminovich Yarin were updated. The changes largely amounted to the spellings of the entries' names in Russian and dates of birth.
The U.K. added two entries to its Yemen sanctions list, the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation said in a Sept. 28 notice. The entries are Motlaq Amer Al Marrani, former deputy head of the Houthi National Security Bureau, and Mansur Ahmad Al-Sa'adi, Houthi Naval Forces chief of staff. The U.N. Security Council had added the two to its sanctions list two days earlier (see 2209280012).