The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control released its Biennial Report on Licensing Activities detailing license applications the agency processed for authorization to export to Iran and Sudan. The Aug. 19 report, which covers OFAC actions from October 2014 to September 2016, is mandated by the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act of 2000 and covers OFAC applications that request permission to export “agricultural commodities, medicine and medical devices” to Iran and Sudan. The report includes the number of applications OFAC received, issued and denied. OFAC requested public comments on the TSRA’s licensing procedures in 2018 and said it received one comment that pointed to the “difficulties in using the financial mechanisms in place for making payments related to transactions” under the TSRA.
Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with some of the top stories for Aug. 12-16 in case they were missed.
A trade credit insurer will settle for about $345,000 after it violated the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Sanctions Regulations, the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control said in an Aug. 16 enforcement notice. The company, Maryland-based Atradius Trade Credit Insurance, allegedly completed transactions with sanctioned entities.
The Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control is holding its 2019 Fall Symposium on Nov. 12 in Washington, D.C., OFAC said in an Aug. 14 notice. The symposium will feature a “comprehensive review” of U.S. sanctions and OFAC staff will be available to answer questions, the agency said. Registration is open, but the agency has not yet released an agenda. According to the webpage for the event, the agenda will be made available at the event.
Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with some of the top stories for Aug. 5-9 in case they were missed.
The Treasury Department’s most recent Venezuela-related general licenses “stop just short of a total embargo” on the country’s government, said Adrienne Braumiller, a trade lawyer and member of the Commerce Department’s Regulations and Procedures Technical Advisory Committee. Some companies will need to pay close attention to the updated expiration dates for certain general licenses, she said, and banks will be faced with a “new level of depth” to the complexity of screening their customers.
An Iranian citizen pleaded guilty Aug. 9 to conspiring to illegally export technology from the U.S. to Iran, the Justice Department said in a press release. Negar Ghodskani was arrested for the violations in 2017.
The Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control found a U.S. company in violation of OFAC’s Reporting, Procedures and Penalties Regulations for failing to provide information about a sale to Iran after being subpoenaed, OFAC said in an Aug. 8 enforcement notice. The violations stem from Southern Cross Aviation’s sale of helicopters to an Iranian businessman in Ecuador, OFAC said.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control said a Virginia-based company violated OFAC’s Reporting, Procedures and Penalties Regulations after providing the agency false or misleading statements during an OFAC investigation, according to an Aug. 8 enforcement notice. The violation stems from DNI Express Shipping Company’s sale of farm equipment to Sudan, which OFAC said violated the Sudanese Sanctions Regulations.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control on Aug. 6 updated an entry on its Specially Designated Nationals List to include additional locations, addresses and other identifying information for Fadi Hussein Serhan. Serhan was designated in 2015 for acting as a Hizballah procurement agent and general manager of Beirut-based Vatech SARL, which he used to buy “sensitive technology and equipment for Hizballah,” according to OFAC.