There remain openings for upcoming Bureau of Industry and Security seminars slated to be held in August and September. A seminar entitled “Complying with U.S. Export Controls” is scheduled August 7-8 in Los Angeles. This seminar will provide Export Administration Regulations (EAR) compliance information. The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) will also be in attendance to discuss embargoes and sanctions.
The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) added individuals and entities to the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list on July 9 and July 11.
CBP issued a clarification regarding imports from Iran in a CSMS message. Since Sept. 29, 2010, only certain products can be imported lawfully into the U.S. from Iran, said CBP. Those items are:
Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control made the following updates to its Specially Designated Nationals List, related to the Iran Freedom and Counter-Proliferation Act of 2012:
The Treasury Department will be issuing regulations in the future to implement certain provisions of the June 3 executive order on implementing the Iran Freedom and Counter-Proliferation Act, the department's Office of Foreign Assets Control said in a new set of FAQs. It said Department of State also expects to adopt an interpretation of the E.O. similar to OFAC's.
The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control made a lengthy update of the Specially Designated Nationals Burma Designations under the Iran Freedom and Counter Proliferation Act, effective July 2. The update is to assist foreign financial institutions in identifying which persons on the OFAC Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN) list fall into the category of persons with whom a FFI may face exposure to sanctions on their U.S. correspondent or payable-through accounts. The phrase "Additional Sanctions Information -- Subject to Secondary Sanctions" will be applied to appropriate SDN listings. A list of SDNs affected by this update is in the July 2, 2013 section in OFAC’s SDN Changes file, which runs from page 35 to 170 of the file (here).
The Office of Foreign Assets Control added the following individuals and entities to its Specially Designated Nationals List June 27. All were added under the Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferators Sanctions Regulations.
The Bureau of Industry and Security ordered Billy Powell of Kingwood, Texas, to pay $100,000, and denied his export privileges for five years, for an alleged scheme to export oil and gas equipment parts through the United Arab Emirates to Iran without the required license. According to BIS, an Office of Foreign Assets Control license was required for the shipments. Powell knew a license was required, but didn’t get one. Per the terms of the order, Powell may not export or perform activities related to exporting, until June 19, 2018.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued a final rule amending the Global Terrorism Sanctions Regulations and the Terrorism Sanctions Regulations (TSR), effective June 27. The technical amendments clarify the scope of prohibitions on making donations, and amends the TSR to add a definition of the term “financial, material, or technological support.” Another amendment to TSR sets the maximum term of maturity for instruments in which funds may be invested or held within a blocked interest-bearing account at 180 days. Lastly, an amendment corrects a clerical error within the Foreign Terrorist Organizations Sanctions Regulations.
The governing body of men’s professional tennis circuits agreed to pay more than $48,000 to settle allegations of Iranian Transactions Regulations violations -- caused by multiple salary payments to a tournament official who resides in Iran -- the Office of Foreign Assets Control announced June 12. ATP Tour, Inc., a nonprofit organization based in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, agreed to pay $48,600 to settle potential civil liability, OFAC said. The agency alleges that between May 8, 2007 and July 15, 2010, ATP approved, facilitated and in some instances made 18 salary payments to an individual who is ordinarily a resident of Iran. The payments were for “services rendered and expenses incurred in connection with ATP tournaments the individual officiated,” OFAC said.