European countries not in the EU aligned with two recent sanctions moves from the European Council concerning the situations in Myanmar and Guinea, the council announced.
A House bill with bipartisan support would authorize funding for an "Iranian Sanctions Enforcement Fund," a body that would help DHS "pay expenses relating to seizures and forfeitures of property made with respect to" Iranian sanctions violations. The legislation would specifically authorize a one-time investment of $150 million for the fund, "which it is required to pay back within 10 years, adjusted for inflation," according to a November press release from Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas, who introduced the bill with Rep. Jimmy Panetta, D-Calif.
The EU and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization members should sanction Iranian airlines and refuse airport access to Iranian aircraft, Rep. Keith Self, R-Texas, said in a resolution introduced this week. Noting the U.S. has sanctions in place against Mahan Air, Iran Air, Saha Airlines, Qeshm Air and Qeshm Fars Air, Self said some of those airlines reportedly operate in at least 24 airports across Eurasia, including in NATO and EU countries.
Senate Republicans this week urged the Biden administration to reverse its decision to temporarily ease sanctions against Venezuela, saying the reprieve will “only further enable” the Nicolas Maduro-led regime’s crackdown on civil society and political opposition. “We implore you to reverse course and recommit to a strong campaign of diplomatic and economic pressure to hasten a transition to a democratic government in Venezuela,” the lawmakers, including Jim Risch of Idaho, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in a letter to the White House.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week issued a correction to a sanction designation published in the Federal Register in April 2021. The correction fixed the basis for the designation of Artem Nikolaevich Stepanov, who was sanctioned for having ties to Russian company Yunidzhet, a procurement agent for Yevgeniy Prigozhin, the former leader of the Russian private military company Wagner Group.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned Gilbert Hernan de Los Angeles Bell Fernandez, a Costa Rican narcotics trafficker who has played a “significant role” in Costa Rica’s transformation into a major narcotics transit hub. Bell, also known as Macho Coca, is one of the city of Limón’s most “prolific” and violent traffickers, OFAC said, adding that he moves “large quantities of cocaine” and Costa Rican authorities arrested him in 2015.
The Bureau of Industry and Security is working to convince more countries to place export controls on advanced semiconductors and chipmaking equipment destined to China, but the agency couldn’t afford to delay its most recent chip controls as other nations mulled them over, said Thea Kendler, BIS assistant secretary for export administration. While the agency prefers to implement its chip controls and other restrictions alongside allies, “we will not hesitate to act unilaterally to protect U.S. national security,” Kendler said.
Members of the European Parliament are pushing member states to more strictly enforce sanctions against Russia, saying “loopholes” are still allowing Russia to reap revenue from its oil sales and import export-controlled electronics. In a resolution adopted by the parliament last week, the body called for a lower price cap on Russian oil and petroleum products and a new mechanism to oversee member states’ sanctions enforcement.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week issued a new guidance to make non-governmental organizations and others aware of the licenses and authorizations available for humanitarian-related transactions involving the Palestinian people. OFAC stressed that its “sanctions do not stand in the way of legitimate humanitarian assistance” to the region, and the guidance outlines what types of transactions and services are allowed.
The U.S. and the U.K. this week released a new round of sanctions against people and entities helping to finance the terror group Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The designations target various PIJ and Hamas officials, a Lebanon-based money exchange company and others.