Both the EU and the U.K. added entries to their Iran sanctions regimes over the Iranian government's role in the death of Mahsa Amini and the subsequent crackdown on protests relating to her killing.
The European Council extended until Nov. 14, 2023, its Venezuela sanctions regime, citing the country's ongoing political, economic, social and humanitarian crisis. The council also updated the statement of reasons for 17 individuals on the list.
The EU added another 10 individuals and one entity to its sanctions regime pertaining to the use of chemical weapons, the European Council said in a Nov. 14 news release. The additions are connected to the poisoning of Russia's leading opposition leader Alexei Navalny and include high-level officials at the Russian Federal Security Service and Russian chemical weapons experts. The added entity is MHD Nazier Houranieh & Sons, which provides the Syrian Studies and Research Center with materials to make chemical weapons delivery systems.
The U.K.'s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation in a series of four notices amended various entries under its sanctions regimes pertaining to North Korea, Myanmar, Russia and Global Human Rights.
Canada this week implemented a U.N. Security Council resolution to sanction Jimmy Cherizier, the leader of the Haitian gang G9. Canada said Cherizier has “engaged in acts that threaten the peace, security, and stability of Haiti,” including human rights abuses.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control and the State Department issued sanctions against 14 individuals, 28 entities and eight aircraft that are part of a transnational network procuring technology supporting the Russian military-industrial complex and a network of financial facilitators, OFAC said in a Nov. 14 news release.
China’s Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation is expecting its fourth quarter revenue this year to drop by 13% to 15% due in part to new U.S. export controls, the company said in an earnings release last week. SMIC said the drop in revenue is because “customers need time to interpret the newly released US export control rules” and “due to the weak demand in the mobile phone and consumer market.” The new controls, announced by the Commerce Department last month (see 2210070049), will “have an adverse impact on our production and operation,” SMIC said. “We have maintained close communications with suppliers, while the clarification of some definitions in the new rules and the assessment of impact on the Company are still in progress.”
The Treasury Department wants to modernize its licensing approach to more easily allow humanitarian groups to send aid to sanctioned jurisdictions, said Alex Parets, counselor to Treasury’s undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence. Parets, speaking during a Nov. 14 event hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the administration is prioritizing work to improve its exemption process for humanitarian organizations and banks working with them.
The U.K.'s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation on Nov. 10 released its annual review for 2021-2022. OFSI said in the review that from Feb. 22 to Oct. 22 this year, more than $21.4 billion in frozen funds were reported to OFSI as being held on behalf of sanctioned parties under the Russia sanctions regime. That's up from nearly $52 million in September 2021. OFSI received 236 reports of sanctions breaches, issued two monetary penalties and issued warning letters and "other enforcement action where appropriate." The report said OFSI had issued 33 general licenses related to its Russia sanctions regime by Aug. 24 and issued 42 new and 107 amended specific licenses across its nine sanctions regimes, with most relating to Libya sanctions. OFSI, with 45 staff at the beginning of the year, will reach 100 employees by year's end, the review said.
The European Commission last week amended two frequently asked questions under its Russia sanctions regime guidance. Under its asset freeze FAQs, the commission added FAQ 15, which says voting rights by shareholders with qualifying holdings in an EU ban should be viewed as an intangible economic resource given that they can be used to obtain funds, goods or services. Under the oil imports FAQ section, the commission added FAQ 2, which includes information on imports into the EU or the purchase or transfer of goods that originate in a third country but are mixed during transport with goods that originate in Russia.