The United Kingdom’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation amended an entry under its North Korea sanctions regime, according to a June 4 notice. The change updated identifying information for Yuk Tung Energy Pte Ltd., a commercial ship manager. The entity is still subject to an asset freeze. The United Nations Security Council sanctioned Yuk Tung Energy for conducting illegal ship-to-ship transfers (see 2005120034).
The Justice Department released an updated compliance program guidance urging industry to rely more on data, learn from past compliance penalties and improve compliance training. But the guidance, issued June 1, also introduces a “subtle” shift in how prosecutors will assess compliance programs, law firms said: More of an emphasis will be placed on determining whether programs are built to adapt to new compliance risks or whether they only rely on bare minimum measures.
The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control on June 5 issued a series of frequently asked questions to clarify a January executive order that expanded U.S. sanctions authority against Iran (see 2001100050). The FAQs clarified that the U.S. will not target Iranian medical manufacturers, defined the sectors of Iran’s economy referenced in the order and specified which goods and services may be targeted. Before this guidance, the agency had done little to define the broad scope of the order, which was causing confusion about the reach of the authorities and the Iranian sectors that would be subject to expanded sanctions (see 2001170034).
An aircraft holding company is suing the Treasury Department after the agency blocked a transaction involving the company and an alleged Specially Designated Global Terrorist, according to court records filed June 2. In the lawsuit, Seychelles-registered Askan Holdings, owned by Romania-based Transylvania International Airlines SRL, argued that no sanctioned party was involved in the transaction and said the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control failed to identify the blocked party or grant Askan a license. Askan is asking a court to order OFAC to grant the license or to stop blocking the transaction.
President Donald Trump’s June 2 executive order to support international religious freedom authorizes the Treasury Department to impose sanctions on countries violating those freedoms. The order directs the Treasury secretary to recommend “the use of economic tools to advance” religious freedom in “countries of particular concern.” Those tools include the use of sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, the order said.
The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control announced regulations to implement an October executive order authorizing certain Syria-related sanctions, OFAC said in a June 4 notice. The notice includes detailed descriptions of the regulations, including transactions that are blocked, definitions, licensing procedures and penalties for violations. OFAC said it plans to release a “more comprehensive” set of regulations, including potential guidance documents and general licenses. The regulations take effect June 5.
The president of the American Automotive Policy Council, former Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt, said the release of the uniform regulations in the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement was so recent that it's too early “to give a definitive view of what needs to be clarified,” or is missing. But he said one of the really important asks of the automotive industry was granted -- an acknowledgement that importers and exporters would need the rest of the year to be ready for full compliance.
U.S. lawmakers and sanctions experts said the administration should move faster to impose sanctions on China for interference in Hong Kong and increase export controls on critical technologies and crowd control equipment. Democratic and Republican senators said they would back a bill introduced in the Senate this week that would sanction Chinese officials and foreign banks, while experts called for a focused, multilateral sanctions approach to minimize impacts on Hong Kong citizens and U.S. companies.
Joshua Holzer, previously chief counsel for global trade at Pfizer, joined the StoneTurn advisory firm, StoneTurn said in a news release. The company said Holzer “offers a unique, practical understanding of economic sanctions,” export controls and import matters.
Reps. Brad Sherman, D-Calif., and Ted Yoho, R-Fla., will introduce a House version of Senate legislation that would expand U.S. sanctions on Chinese efforts to meddle in Hong Kong’s autonomy (see 2005260031). The House bill, like its Senate companion, would sanction “foreign individuals” and banks supporting Chinese efforts to pass a so-called national security law in Hong Kong, according to a June 1 press release. Sherman applauded the Senate for “moving quickly” to introduce their version of the bill. “Congress must act to support the residents of Hong Kong,” he said in a statement. Yoho said the U.S. must “put pressure on Beijing to honor their past agreements.”