The United Kingdom’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation amended an entry under its sanctions for the Democratic Republic of the Congo, according to a March 20 notice. OFSI amended identifying information for Ignace Murwanashyaka, who is still subject to an asset freeze, the notice said.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control extended the expiration dates for two Ukraine-related general licenses that authorize certain transactions with U.S.-sanctioned GAZ Group, OFAC said in a March 20 notice. General License No. 13N authorizes certain transactions necessary to divestments and debt transfers. General License No. 15H authorizes certain transactions related to the maintenance or wind down of operations of existing contracts, and activities related to certain automotive safety and environmental systems in vehicles produced by GAZ Group.
European governments are skeptical about the use of U.S. export controls to restrict transfers of sensitive technologies even as the U.S. ramps up attempts to convince them to adopt similar measures, according to a March 18 report from the Mercator Institute for China Studies. As the U.S. has taken an increasingly aggressive approach to restricting emerging technology sales to China, Europe increasingly sees export controls as a “blunt instrument” for tackling technology risks, the report said, viewing them instead as a U.S.-driven effort to contain China's rise.
Industry should expect delays in licensing processing and commodity jurisdiction requests due to reduced staffing amid the COVID-19 outbreak, the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls said March 19. The DDTC is also urging industry to submit disclosures through email to DTCC-CaseStatus@state.gov. All “email material” should be submitted on company letterhead in a PDF format. DDTC is not requiring duplicate hard copies but will accept physical mail if a disclosure cannot be submitted through email.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned five United Arab Emirates companies for buying Iranian oil, Treasury said in a March 19 press release. The companies bought “hundreds of thousands” of metric tons of petroleum products from the National Iranian Oil Company, which was sanctioned by OFAC in 2008. The companies include Petro Grand FZE, Alphabet International DMCC, Swissol Trade DMCC, Alam Althrwa General Trading LLC and Alwaneo LLC Co.
Agricultural exporters and shippers are losing “hundreds of millions of dollars” due to shipping uncertainty and cargo detention penalties caused by the response to the coronavirus pandemic, said Peter Friedmann, executive director of the Agriculture Transportation Coalition. Friedmann was critical of the Federal Maritime Commission, which has yet to finalize a proposed rule issued last year that would provide guidance about how the FMC assesses the fairness of demurrage and detention practices. The rule’s public comment period ended in October.
The Commerce Department is seeking comments on an information collection relating to voluntary self-disclosures of violations of the Export Administration Regulations, according to a notice in the March 19 Federal Register. Commerce is preparing to submit the collection to the Office of Management and Budget for review. Comments are due no later than April 20.
An Iranian businessman was convicted of violating U.S. sanctions after he funneled more than $115 million through the U.S. financial system for a Venezuelan construction project, the Justice Department said in a March 16 press release. Ali Sadr Hashemi Nejad funneled the money to his family business, the Stratus Group, which helped the Iranian International Housing Company work with U.S.-sanctioned Petroleos de Venezuela to build housing units in Venezuela. Nejad was convicted on several counts, including conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and money laundering, both of which carry a maximum 20-year prison sentence.
The United Kingdom amended entries under its Ukraine sanctions list, according to a March 18 notice from the U.K.’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation. The U.K. removed asset freezes from two entries -- Evgeni Viktorovich Bushmin and Valery Kirillovich Medvedev -- and updated identifying information for 154 people and 11 entities.
The State Department sanctioned Amir Muhammad Sa’id Abdal-Rahman al-Mawla, the new leader of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist, according to a March 17 news release. The agency also released identifying information on Ali Abdullah Ayoub (see 2003170042), the Syrian official sanctioned by the Treasury Department March 17. Ayoub was sanctioned for contributing to the country’s humanitarian crisis, the agency said.