The Office of Foreign Assets Control has issued a final rule that adopts as final (but with new general licenses authorizing certain food exports), a November 2009 interim final rule that made technical changes to sections of the Sudanese Sanctions Regulations (SSR) and the Iranian Transactions Regulations (ITR) regarding licensing of agricultural commodity, medicine, and medical device exports to Iran and Sudan. The final rule is effective October 12, 2011.
The Bureau of Industry and Security has announced that Jeng "Jay" Shih and his New York company, Sunrise Technologies and Trading Corporation, pleaded guilty on October 7, 2011 to conspiracy to illegally export U.S.-origin computers from the U.S. to Iran through the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Under the terms of the plea and related BIS civil and Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) settlements, Shih and his company will forfeit $1.25 million.
On October 4, 2011, the Office of Foreign Assets Control added one individual to, and removed 20 from, its "Specially Designated Nationals" List. SDNs are (i) individuals and companies owned or controlled by, or acting for or on behalf of, targeted countries or (ii) individuals, groups, and entities, such as terrorists and narcotics traffickers designated under programs that are not country-specific. The assets of listed SDNs are blocked and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from dealing with them.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control has issued a set of 141 Frequently Asked Questions regarding Executive Order 13582 on the Blocking Property of the Government of Syria and Prohibiting Certain Transactions With Respect to Syria.
On October 5, 2011, the Office of Foreign Assets Control added one individual, Jamil Mukulu of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to its "Specially Designated Nationals" List. SDNs are (i) individuals and companies owned or controlled by, or acting for or on behalf of, targeted countries or (ii) individuals, groups, and entities, such as terrorists and narcotics traffickers designated under programs that are not country-specific. The assets of listed SDNs are blocked and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from dealing with them.
On October 3, 2011, the Office of Foreign Assets Control issued two new General Licenses for Syria. General License No. 13 authorizes certain services in connection with the overflight or emergency landing of U.S. owned aircraft in Syria provided no payments are made to certain blocked persons and General License No. 14 authorizes transactions with respect to telecommunications provided that no payment involves certain debits to an account of the Government of Syria or are to certain blocked persons.
The Bureau of Industry and Security announced on October 3, 2011 that Flowserve Corporation and ten of its foreign affiliates have agreed to pay a civil penalty totaling $2.5 million to settle 288 charges for violating the Export Administration Regulations by making unlicensed exports and reexports of pumps, valves and related components to Iran and Syria and other countries.
The Website for the International Trade Data System has posted (1) an updated ACE Portal Access Application (this form may be used for PGAs applying for access to ACE as well as to make any changes or updates to an existing PGA user account in ACE) and (2) an updated PGA Roster.
On September 28 and 29, 2011, the Office of Foreign Assets Control added several individuals to its "Specially Designated Nationals" List. SDNs are (i) individuals and companies owned or controlled by, or acting for or on behalf of, targeted countries or (ii) individuals, groups, and entities, such as terrorists and narcotics traffickers designated under programs that are not country-specific. The assets of listed SDNs are blocked and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from dealing with them.
The Treasury Department has sanctioned an additional five individuals pursuant to Executive Order 13224 for providing financial, material or technological support, or acting for on behalf of the most dangerous terrorist organizations operating in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The five are Hajji Faizullah Khan Noorzai (financier), Hajji Malik Noorzai (Pakistan-born businessman),Abdur Rehman (Taliban facilitator), Abdul Aziz Abbasin (terrorist commander), and Fazal Rahim (financial facilitator). OFAC release on the addition of these individuals to the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list available here.