The Office of Foreign Assets Control last week imposed sanctions on 15 Khordad Foundation, an Iranian organization responsible for the bounty on author Salman Rushdie. 15 Khordad Foundation has "committed millions of dollars" toward a bounty on the author since 1989 and has raised the bounty amount several times, most recently to $3.3 million, OFAC said in an Oct. 28 news release. The foundation, along with other Iranian entities, has led to the death and injury of several people associated with Rushdie, including writers, translators and publishers, OFAC said.
OFAC sanction activity
The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned nine people and 12 entities this week in an effort to counter "persistent malign influence campaigns and systemic corruption in Moldova" by Russian actors, the agency said.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned 10 Iranian officials, two Iranian intelligence actors and two other Iranian entities related to the ongoing crackdown on protests in Iran and the Iranian government’s efforts to disrupt digital freedom, according to an Oct. 26 press release.
President Joe Biden signed an executive order this week authorizing new sanctions and trade restrictions against Nicaragua. The U.S. also announced new Nicaragua-related designations and issued a general license.
In coordination with DOJ and the FBI, the Office of Foreign Assets Control has added one individual and two organizations to its Specially Designated Nationals list, according to an Oct. 19 notice.
Puerto Rico-based Nodus International Bank violated U.S. sanctions against Venezuela when it allowed an undisclosed sanctioned person to open and operate several accounts, the Office of Foreign Assets Control said Oct. 18. The bank also violated U.S. sanctions reporting regulations because it failed to maintain accurate records of its handling of the blocked property, OFAC said. The agency issued the bank a “Finding of Violation” instead of a fine due to several mitigating factors, including the fact that Nodus voluntarily disclosed the violations.
Russian semiconductor imports have dropped 70% since the country became subject to broad Western sanctions and export controls earlier this year, the Commerce, Treasury and State departments said in a joint alert last week. The alert, which provides an overview of the U.S. restrictions, said the measures are having "significant and long-lasting consequences on Russia’s defense industrial base," which relies extensively on foreign-sourced items, especially on imported microelectronics. Russia's semiconductor shortage has also dramatically dropped automobile and consumer electronics production, the alert said. Sanctions and export controls have resulted in "a sharp economic contraction for Russia" that will continue to drag on the Russian economy for years, the alert said.
Cryptocurrency exchange Bittrex was fined more than $24 million by the Office of Foreign Assets Control this week for violating U.S. sanctions. OFAC announced the fine alongside a similar penalty by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, which fined the company more than $29 million for violating the Bank Secrecy Act. The OFAC and FinCEN settlements are the two agencies’ first parallel enforcement actions, OFAC’s largest-ever virtual currency enforcement action and the agency's largest fine since April 2019.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Oct. 7 sanctioned one person and two entities in Malaysia for the “cruel trafficking” of endangered wildlife and the “products of brutal poaching.” The designations target Malaysian national Teo Boon Ching, the Teo Boon Ching Wildlife Trafficking Transnational Criminal Organization and Malaysian company Sunrise Greenland. OFAC said Ching specializes in transporting rhino horn, ivory and pangolins from Africa, and uses routes through Malaysia and Laos and “onward to consumers in Vietnam and China.”
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Oct. 7 sanctioned two people and three entities for their involvement in the export of petroleum to North Korea. The designations target Singapore-based Kwek Kee Seng, Taiwan-based Chen Shih Huan and Marshall Islands-registered company New Eastern Shipping, all of which were “involved in the ownership or management” of the Courageous, a vessel that has delivered refined petroleum to North Korea. OFAC also sanctioned Singapore-registered Anfasar Trading and Singapore registered Swanseas Port Services for being owned or controlled by Kwek.