The United Nations Security Council added Mohammed Masood Azhar Alvi, a Pakistan native, to its ISIL and Al-Qaida sanctions list, the U.N. said in a May 1 press release. U.N. said Alvi is the founder of terrorist group Jaish-i-Mohammed and the former leader of Harakat ul-Mujahidin. The sanctions include an assets freeze, travel ban and arms embargo, the U.N. said.
The U.S. is renewing five of seven Iran-related sanctions waivers that allow Russia and European countries to “conduct civilian nuclear cooperation with Iran,” according to a May 3 report from the Associated Press. The waivers were extended by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for 90 days to allow work at “several Iranian nuclear sites to continue without U.S. penalties,” the AP reported.
A former consultant for the Arms Trade Treaty said President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from the pact may "haunt" the U.S. for years and could place U.S. exporters’ supply chains at risk. Rachel Stohl -- in a May 3 commentary on WarOnTheRocks.com, a national security website -- wrote that while U.S. exporters still will be subject to “strict U.S. export control laws,” exporters “could see their supply chains or access to customers put at risk if a trading partner puts limits" on countries not party to the treaty.
The Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control’s recent publication of a sanctions compliance guide is the latest example of OFAC’s long-term effort to show companies what makes an effective compliance program, trade lawyers said. But the effort may also ultimately benefit the Treasury, according to one lawyer, by making it easier for the department to successfully prosecute compliance cases.
Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Ill., introduced a bill on April 30 that would lift the U.S. trade embargo on Cuba and impose export controls on trades with the island. The bill, "United States-Cuba Relations Normalization Act," said the U.S. can “best support democratic change and human rights” in Cuba by, among other conditions, “promoting trade and commerce.” The bill said normal trade relations would help Cuba’s economy transform into a free market and “assist Cuba in adopting regional and world trading rules and principles." If passed, the bill would authorize “new restrictions” on Cuban trade, including export controls under the Export Control Reform Act of 2018. The embargo would lift 60 days after the bill is enacted. The bill was introduced the same day President Donald Trump threatened Cuba with the “highest-level sanctions” and a “complete embargo” if it does not stop military operations in Venezuela (see 1904300228).
Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., is asking for co-sponsors on a bill that would designate the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization, just one day after reports surfaced that the White House is also pursuing sanctions against the group. In a May 1 letter, Diaz-Balart said that while the U.S. has designated individual members and branches of the Muslim Brotherhood, it has not yet sanctioned it “as a whole.” He said the foreign terrorist designation would impose “tough sanctions on a dangerous organization with longstanding ties to violent, extremist groups.” Diaz-Balart introduced similar legislation in recent years. The White House has asked national security officials to “find a way” to sanction the group, according to an April 30 report in The New York Times. The White House’s request came after Egypt's President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi visited Washington on April 9 and “urged” President Donald Trump to join his country in sanctioning the organization, the report said.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control reached a settlement of about $870,000 with a New York-based shipbroking company that OFAC said violated weapons-related sanctions five times. The company, MID-SHIP Group LLC, violated the Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferators Sanctions Regulations by negotiating contracts among ship owners and charterers worth about $470,000 between February and November 2011, OFAC said May 2. The ships used in the transfers were owned by the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL), which was sanctioned by OFAC in 2008.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control published a 12-page guide on sanctions compliance for U.S. and foreign businesses, detailing what OFAC defines as effective compliance programs and outlining several “root causes” of sanctions violations. The guide, published May 2, delves into the level of compliance that OFAC expects from companies and how best to avoid sanctions violations. The guide covers five categories: management commitment, risk assessment, internal controls, testing and auditing, and training.
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing issued guidance that includes information on the effects of sanctions on issuers listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange. A section on trade or economic sanctions details requirements for disclosure to investors and the ramifications of exposure to sanctioned companies and businesses.
The Department of the Treasury is “initiating a renewal of the public certificate securing the www.treasury.gov website,” which includes the Office of Foreign Assets Control’s “sanctions list downloads,” OFAC said in a May 1 technical notice. The certificate is being replaced May 16 at 9 p.m. EDT and will take about three to six hours for the "replacement certificate to be distributed worldwide,” the notice said. “If your application pins or otherwise trusts the serial number of the existing certificate as part your application functionality, you may need to update your configuration to trust the renewed certificate,” OFAC said. Questions should be directed to O_F_A_C@treasury.gov or the tech support hotline at 1-800-540-6322.