Switzerland has added 17 individuals and 11 entities to its Belarus sanctions regime, following the EU in its sanctions relating to Belarus' moves aiding illegal border crossings into the EU. The Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs' sanctioned individuals and entities include high-ranking Belarusian officials and hotels that contributed to the border crossings.
China has sanctioned four members of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, a federal government commission, in response to the U.S. designation of four Chinese officials, a spokesperson for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The individuals are the commission's Chair Nadine Maenza, Vice Chair Nury Turkel and commissioners Anurima Bhargava and James Carr. The restrictions consist of a travel ban and an asset freeze. The U.S. imposed its sanctions due to China's human rights violations against the Uyghur Muslim minority in the Xinjiang region.
President Joe Biden on Dec. 23 signed the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, which includes a sanctions provision targeting human rights abusers in China. Congress passed the bill earlier this month (see 2112140077 and 2112160076).
The U.N. Security Council Dec. 21 added two new entries to its sanctions list. The UNSC added Sanaullah Ghafari to its ISIL (Da’esh) and al-Qaida Sanctions List and sanctioned Ali Darassa under the Central African Republic. Ghafari is the leader of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant-Khorasan group, the UNSC said, and Darassa leads the CAR-based militia group Unite pour la Paix en Centrafrique (Union for Peace in the CAR). Both were also sanctioned by the United Kingdom (see 2112220024).
The Treasury Department’s new “dangerous” humanitarian-related general licenses for Afghanistan lack oversight and could empower the Taliban, said Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas, the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. McCaul said the licenses are “broad sanctions carveouts” that could “reward, legitimize and enable the same Taliban that took power by force and has shown no interest in abiding by international norms.”
The Treasury Department amended the Weapons of Mass Destruction Trade Control Regulations with several technical changes, the agency said in a Federal Register notice. The changes, effective Dec. 27, removed appendix 1 from the regulations, which lists people who contribute to foreign countries’ efforts to develop and stockpile weapons of mass destruction. OFAC also amended certain definitions to reflect the removal of appendix I and made other “technical edits.”
The Wassenaar Arrangement last week published export control changes agreed to by member states during the 2021 plenary. The changes include new controls for “computer-assisted-design software tools for high-end components” and “new classes of metallic and organic substrates used in highly sophisticated applications,” the plenary chair said in a Dec. 23 statement. The changes also include some “relaxed” controls, including loosened restrictions on “fluorinated silicon fluids, metal working parameters for commercial applications, the performance level of High-Performance Computers and multi-mode lasers and radars used in automotive anti-collision applications.”
The Office of Foreign Assets Control fined TD Bank about $115,000 for two separate instances of sanctions violations, the agency said Dec. 23. The bank illegally processed nearly 1,500 transactions that violated U.S. sanctions against North Korea and maintained two accounts for more than four years for a U.S. resident who was sanctioned under Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Sanctions Regulations. OFAC said both cases resulted from “multiple sanctions compliance breakdowns,” including human errors and screening deficiencies.
The United Kingdom added entries to its ISIL (Da'esh) and al-Qaida sanctions regime and to its Central African Republic sanctions regime, the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation said in a pair of notices. Sanaullah Ghafari, the ISIL-K emir in Afghanistan, was added to the list, after being appointed by the ISIS core to lead ISIL-K in June 2020. Ali Darassa was added to the CAR sanctions regime. He founded and leads the CAR-based militia group Unite pour la Paix en Centrafrique (Union for Peace in the CAR), which has committed human rights violations.
Seven countries aligned with the European Union's decision to sanction 17 individuals and 11 entities relating to the ongoing situation in Belarus, the European Council said Dec. 22. North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Albania, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway also sanctioned the relevant parties. On Dec. 2, the EU, along with the U.S. and other allies, sanctioned a host of individuals and entities in Belarus for aiding illegal border crossings through Belarus to the EU (see 2112020023).