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.
President Joe Biden terminated the national emergency declared in a 2015 executive order that authorized certain sanctions against Burundi, the White House said Nov. 18. The “stability” of Burundi “has been significantly altered by events of the past year, including the transfer of power following elections in 2020, significantly decreased violence” and government reforms, the White House said. As a result, the Office of Foreign Assets Control removed a range of Burundi-related entries from its Specially Designationed Nationals List.
Port congestion and container issues are crippling U.S. exports of pork, dairy and other agricultural products, which could permanently lose ground to competitors in foreign markets if U.S. port problems aren’t quickly resolved, industry officials said. Speaking to a House Agriculture subcommittee this week, officials urged Congress to pass the Ocean Shipping Reform Act (see 2108100011) and do more to penalize carriers for leaving the U.S. with empty containers.
The Bureau of Industry and Security hasn’t done enough to restrict exports of sensitive technologies to Chinese artificial intelligence companies, Republican senators said in a Nov. 15 letter to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo. The senators urged BIS to “expeditiously review and then add” to the Entity List all A.I. suppliers to China’s military, including those listed in a recent report by Georgetown University. In a report last month, university researchers said very few A.I. suppliers to China face specific U.S. export controls (see 2110290018).
President Joe Biden extended a national emergency that authorizes certain sanctions against Nicaragua, the White House said Nov. 16. The Nicaraguan government has used violence to stop protests and continues to undermine the country’s democratic institutions, the White House said. The emergency was extended for one year beyond Nov. 27.
Although Japan was considering creating a human rights sanctions regime, it has abandoned the effort for the “time being,” according to a Nov. 16 report from The Mainichi, a Japanese newspaper. The country is hoping to “keep its diplomatic options open” with China, the report said, which would likely require sanctions under the legislation for China's abuses against religious minorities in the Xinjiang region. Japan will consider using existing legislation, including its foreign exchange and foreign trade law, to impose penalties and asset freezes for human rights violations, the report said.