Sanctions

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On March 6, 2024, the Department of Commerce, the Department of the Treasury, and the Department of Justice published a Tri-Seal Compliance Note titled “Obligations of foreign-based persons to comply with U.S. sanctions and export control laws” (the “Note”). The Note stresses that U.S. persons are not the only entities subject to U.S. sanctions and…

On January 17, 2024, the US Department of the Treasury (“Treasury”) Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) announced the re-addition of Ansarallah, better known as the Houthis, to the List of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (“SDN List”) as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist, just shy of three years after delisting the group to…

Last week, OFAC announced it is increasing its maximum amount of the civil monetary penalties (CMP) that may be assessed under relevant OFAC regulations by implementing the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990 for 2024. These increases adjust for inflation and have occurred nine times since 2015. The changes to the CMPs are…

On December 11, the U.S. Department of Treasury (“Treasury”)’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) announced sanctions against two former Afghan government officials, Mir Rahman Rahmani and his son, Ajmal Rahmani (collectively, “the Rahmanis”), as well as 44 associated entities. These individuals and entities were designated pursuant to Executive Order 13818, which builds upon and…

  • In a move that could lead to the quasi-harmonization between Member States of certain aspects of criminal law, the EU institutions are currently considering a new law that would criminalize sanctions evasion.
  • Following the creation of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in 2021, members of the European Parliament are now seeking the
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Last Friday, the U.S. Departments of Commerce, Justice, State, and the Treasury issued a joint guidance sheet on Iran’s unmanned aerial vehicles (“UAVs”) program (the “Iran UAV Guidance”). The Iran UAV Guidance highlighted (I) the threat Iran’s UAV program poses; (II) the key items that Iran relies on to expand its UAV program; (III) the…

New U.S., UK, and EU Designations: On September 30, 2022, the U.S. designated 295 individuals and entities.  The new designations included 14 persons in Russia’s military industrial complex, including Sinno Electronics Co. and Taco LLC, Chinese and Armenian suppliers, for their support of a Russian defense procurement firm.  The U.S. also targeted two Russian…

UK Amends Designation of Arkady Rotenberg: On September 16, 2022, the UK replaced the designation entry for Arkady Romanovich Rotenberg.  The new entry description focuses on Mr. Rotenberg’s role in the construction of the Kerch Bridge, and the railway line on the bridge, which stretch from Russia to Crimea.  Mr. Rotenberg was originally designated…

UK Publishes General License for Energy for Mongolia: On August 16, 2022, the UK published General License INT/2022/2085212 for Mongolia energy payments.  The license permits payments to the Credit Bank of Moscow, Gazprombank, Sberbank, Rosbank PJSC, or any entity owned or controlled by these banks, for the purpose of making energy available for use…

On August 8, 2022, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) sanctioned virtual currency mixing service Tornado Cash, which OFAC said has been used to launder billions of dollars in virtual currency, including $455 million stolen by the Lazarus Group, a Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (“DPRK”) state-sponsored hacking group…