The United Nations Security Council removed sanctions from one person and 11 entities designated under its Iraq sanctions regime, it said Dec. 1. The move removes designations from Muhammad Mahdi Al-Salih and from a range of manufacturing, textile and industrial companies and organizations.
The United Kingdom’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation amended four entries under its Sudan sanctions, a Dec. 1 notice said. The revision updates identifying information for a former Sudanese government official and current military and militant leaders.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control designated Lucio Rodriguez Serrano as a Specially Designated Narcotics Trafficker for working on behalf of Mexican drug trafficker Rafael Caro Quintero, OFAC said Dec. 2. OFAC said Serrano and Quintero are “lifelong friends” and Serrano has helped Quintero evade capture from U.S. authorities. Quintero is on the FBI’s most-wanted list. Timothy Shea, acting administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration, said arresting Quintero is a “top priority” for the DEA. “Today’s action by Treasury is an important step in our joint mission to disrupt, dismantle, and destroy violent drug trafficking organizations and in bringing Caro Quintero to justice,” Shea said. OFAC also deleted six Mexico and Colombia-related sanctions entries and revised one Mexico-related entry.
While the United Kingdom will continue many of the same sanctions regimes imposed by the European Union, companies should not assume the two sets of sanctions regulations will be “identical” after Brexit, the U.K.’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation said. In a Dec. 1 blog post, OFSI said some of its regulations have revised wording and urged businesses to review U.K. sanctions to make sure their “activities are still compliant.”
The Bureau of Industry and Security should apply the “minimal” necessary level of export controls on foundational technologies to prevent impacts on U.S. academic research, universities said in comments to the agency. BIS also should reexamine which technologies it defines as “emerging” because some are already commercially widespread, a British aerospace company said.
China criticized the U.S. decision this week to sanction the China National Electronics Import & Export Corp. (see 2011300035), saying it opposes U.S. unilateral sanctions and interference in Venezuela. The U.S. sanctioned the Chinese company for exporting advanced technologies and technical expertise to Venezuela. “The U.S. practice is nothing but another pretext to suppress Venezuela and relevant Chinese companies,” a ministry spokesperson said Dec. 1 during a regular press conference. “China will take necessary measures to uphold the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies.”
The United Kingdom’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation published a guidance Dec. 1 for its Lebanon sanctions, including details on enforcement measures and license exceptions, and how the sanctions will apply beginning Jan. 1, 2021, the day the U.K. leaves the European Union.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned Jhon Fredy Zapata Garzon for supporting Clan del Golfo, a prominent drug trafficking and criminal group in Colombia, OFAC said Dec. 1. The agency also sanctioned three of Garzon’s family members and associates -- Tatiana Marguerid Zapata Garzon, Euclides Correa Salas and Einer Murillo Palacios -- and four businesses owned or controlled by Garzon and his associates -- Las Ingenierias S.A.S., Fresno Home S.A.S., Distriecor S.A.S. and Multioperaciones de Occidente S.A.S., which are used to launder money for Garzon’s drug trafficking.
China will sanction four people for promoting democracy in Hong Kong in retaliation for U.S. sanctions against officials responsible for implementing Hong Kong’s so-called national security law (see 2011090044). China’s sanctions target John Knaus, an Asia expert at the National Endowment for Democracy, National Democratic Institute official Manpreet Anand and former NDI employees Kelvin Sit and Crystal Rosario, China’s Foreign Ministry said Nov. 30. All four people will be banned from coming to China, Reuters reported Nov. 30.
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