An Iranian citizen who lived for a time in Turkey was charged in two separate indictments for violating U.S. export laws, including several counts of conspiracy to export goods to Iran and to a Specially Designated National, the Department of Justice said in a June 4 press release. Peyman Amiri Larijani -- operations manager for Kral Havacilik IC VE DIS Ticaret Sirketi (Kral Aviation) -- was indicted on 34 counts of violating export laws in 2015 and four counts in 2016.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control submitted to Congress its annual report on assets held in the U.S. by terrorism-supporting countries and agencies. The report, released May 29, describes U.S. sanctions regimes and details the number of designated individuals, entities and countries designated by each regime as of Dec. 31, 2018. It also includes a list of blocked funds in the U.S. associated with the Specially Designated Global Terrorists, Specially Designated Terrorists and Foreign Terrorist Organization programs, as well as a similar list of blocked funds associated with three state sponsors of terrorism: Iran, Syria and North Korea.
Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with some of the top stories for May 20-24 in case they were missed.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control issued a “finding of violation” against U.S.-based State Street Bank and Trust Co. (SSBT) after it violated U.S.-imposed sanctions on Iran, OFAC said in a May 28 notice. The bank was not fined, OFAC said, partly because the bank’s managers were likely unaware of the violations and because the bank cooperated with OFAC and improved its compliance program.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control announced sanctions on Argentina-based Goldpharma, which it called a drug trafficking and money laundering organization, and several of its members, Treasury said in a May 23 notice. In total, OFAC designated the company, eight Argentine nationals and 16 other entities under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act for operating as “significant foreign narcotics” traffickers and contributing to the “synthetic opioid crisis,” Treasury said.
The Department of Justice is working on more ways to reward corporate compliance programs and searching for benefits that extend beyond lenient rulings on violations, said Claire McCusker Murray, the DOJ's principal deputy associate attorney general.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned five people and one entity under the Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act for Russia-related human rights violations, Treasury said in a May 16 notice. The sanctioned people include Russian government investigators and members of the Chechen Republic’s Terek Special Rapid Response Team.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned 11 people and 10 entities in Mexico related to allegations of corruption, money laundering, drug trafficking and killings, Treasury said in a May 17 notice. The sanctions include the designation of a Mexican magistrate judge and former Mexican governor, Isidro Avelar Gutierrez, under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act.
Speaking at a cryptocurrency conference in New York, Sigal Mandelker, Treasury’s under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said more countries are turning to digital currencies to evade U.S. sanctions. She also stressed the importance of complying with the Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctions programs, rejected the notion of a “one-size-fits-all” compliance program and warned that Treasury is looking into small actors -- not just large companies -- who commit violations.
Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with some of the top stories for May 6-10 in case they were missed.