A Romanian bank and its U.S. parent company were fined about $860,000 by the Office of Foreign Assets Control for violating U.S. sanctions against Iran and Syria, OFAC said in an enforcement notice. Romania-based First Bank SA processed nearly 100 transactions worth about $3.5 million through U.S. banks on behalf of sanctioned parties, the notice said. The bank continued to process transactions for Iranian customers after it was acquired by U.S.-based JC Flowers in 2018.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control fined the United Kingdom-based Bank of China more than $2.3 million for processing more than 100 transactions that violated then-U.S. sanctions against Sudan, according to an enforcement order. The bank illegally exported financial services from the U.S. when it processed about $40 million worth of transactions through the U.S. financial system on behalf of parties in Sudan, OFAC said Aug. 26.
Switzerland's Federal Department of Economic Affairs delisted three people from its sanctions regime in two sanctions modification notices. Sayed Shamsuddin Borborudi of Iran, Bion Na Tchongo of Guinea-Bissau and Paulo Sunsai of Guinea-Bissau were removed in the two separate actions. All three were also delisted by the European Union in the past two months (see 2108100012 and 2107300046).
The State Department's Directorate of Defense Trade Controls will hold a webinar Sept. 16 on submitting registration renewals and amendments in the Defense Export Control and Compliance System. The session will include a question-and-answer period and other tips and tricks for using DECCS. The Aug. 26 notice includes login information for the webinar.
Although the U.S. should continue to impose severe sanctions against the Taliban, some collaboration with Afghanistan and other adversaries in the Middle East may be required to deliver humanitarian aid to Afghan citizens, experts said.
The State Department will extend a “temporary modification” to the U.S. Munitions List that is intended to provide clarity to U.S. exporters about certain language in the USML, the agency said in a final rule released Aug. 26. The modification, which was scheduled to expire Aug. 30 but will now remain through Aug. 30, 2026, revised USML Category XI to clarify that “certain intelligence-analytics software” is controlled under the USML. Although the State Department said it “continues to develop a long-term solution” to address the language, that solution “will not be in place when the current temporary modification expires.” Extending the expiration date for five years is in the “best interest” of the U.S. defense industry so that the language can be revised as part of a “wholesale revision” of USML Category XI, the agency said.
Several Republican lawmakers criticized the Biden administration this week for reportedly (see 2108250018) granting export licenses for companies to ship hundreds of millions of dollars worth of auto chips to Huawei. The licenses reportedly were approved within the past several months and authorized only exports of auto chips, which are viewed as less sensitive than other types of semiconductor-related items.
The State Department this week sent a final rule for interagency review that would amend the International Traffic in Arms Regulations to create definitions for activities that are not exports, reexports or retransfers. The rule would create definitions for a range of activities, including launching items into space, providing technical data to U.S. people within the U.S. or within a single country abroad, and moving defense articles between states, possessions and U.S. territories.
Iran recently resumed fuel exports to Afghanistan following the Taliban’s takeover, Reuters reported Aug. 23. The new Afghan government reportedly asked Iran to resume the fuel shipments because it feels it can openly buy sanctioned Iranian oil now that the U.S. military has withdrawn from the region. In response, Iran lifted a ban on fuel exports to Afghanistan that had been in place since Aug. 6, which stemmed from “concerns about the safety of trading in the country,” the report said. The Taliban also reportedly agreed to cut tariffs on imports of fuel from Iran and other neighboring countries.
Hong Viet Production Trading Service Joint Stock Co. and Montrose Consulting Co., both based in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, saw their import and exporting rights suspended by the HCM City Customs Department following the late payment of taxes, state-run publication CustomsNews said Aug. 25. The local tax department is requesting around $170,000 from Hong Viet Production and $11,000 from Montrose Consulting, leading to the suspension of customs clearance procedures for the companies. “Many companies paid taxes after the local department enforced sanctions,” CustomsNews said.