The Magnitsky Act is set to sunset in 2022, and the bipartisan authors of the original sanctions bill asked civil society representatives in the U.S. and Africa how the renewal should be shaped.
OFAC sanction activity
The recent U.S. decision to increase sanctions and export controls on Russia, although largely narrow, could have significant implications for exporters doing business in Russia, law firms said. U.S. companies should pay close attention to new restrictions on certain controlled services and the potential impacts of the restrictions on disclosure and reporting requirements, the firms said.
The U.S., the European Union, the United Kingdom and Canada announced sanctions against China for human rights abuses in an internationally coordinated effort to condemn China’s treatment of its Uyghur population. The sanctions, announced March 22, target officials and an entity in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region for leading the repression and detention of Muslim minorities.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned two people and two entities connected to the Myanmar military and its “violent repression” on pro-democracy protests, OFAC said March 22. The sanctions target Than Hlaing, a leader of Myanmar’s police force; military official Aung Soe; the 33rd Light Infantry Division of the Burmese Army; and the 77th Light Infantry Division of the Burmese Army.
Dual U.S.-Mexican citizen Jessica Johanna Oseguera Gonzalez pleaded guilty on March 12 to engaging in financial dealings with Mexican companies that had been identified as Specially Designated Narcotics Traffickers, the Department of Justice announced in a press release. Oseguera Gonzalez, the daughter of Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacion head Nemesio Ruben Oseguera Cervantes, aka “El Mencho,” faces a maximum of up to 30 years in prison and is set to face sentencing on June 11. She pleaded guilty to violating the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act by engaging in property transactions with six Mexican businesses that had been designated by the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control.
A Boston software company may have violated sanctions against U.S.-embargoed countries, it said in its March 16 Securities and Exchange Commission filing. SEMrush Holdings said it recently submitted an initial voluntary disclosure to the Office of Foreign Assets Control after identifying “customer accounts” that may involve transactions with people in Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria and the Crimea region of Ukraine. The company said it plans to provide OFAC with a final report on its disclosures and has not yet received a “determination” from the agency. SEMrush said it may face penalties. A company spokesperson didn't comment.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control is amending the maximum civil penalty amount for certain sanctions violations to reflect inflation adjustments for its civil monetary penalties, it said in a notice. The changes, effective March 17, increase the maximum penalties for violating the Trading With the Enemy Act, the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996, the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act and the Clean Diamond Trade Act. OFAC also increased the maximum civil penalties for certain record-keeping violations and made several technical changes to “consolidate or shorten” certain citations in OFAC’s regulations.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control fined a Cleveland process controls and instrument manufacturer more than $215,000 for violating U.S. sanctions against Iran, OFAC said in a March 15 notice. The company, UniControl, Inc., exported goods to European companies despite knowing they would ultimately be sent to Iran, OFAC said. The agency said the company failed to “act on multiple apparent warning signs.”
The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned the adult children of the commander-in-chief of the Myanmar military and their six companies, the agency said March 10. The designations target Aung Pyae Sone and Khin Thiri Thet Mon, who have “directly benefitted from their father’s position and malign influence.” OFAC also sanctioned the companies A&M Mahar Company Limited, Sky One Construction Company Limited, The Yangon Restaurant, The Yangon Gallery, Everfit Company Limited and Seventh Sense Company Limited.
The Bureau of Industry and Security denied export privileges for a German aircraft maintenance company and fined it more than $50,000 for procuring U.S. parts and components for a sanctioned Iranian airline. MSI Aircraft Maintenance Services International GmbH & Co. worked with Iran’s Mahan Airways (see 2011270001) to illegally export U.S.-origin reservoir and valve assemblies, which were controlled under the Export Administration Regulations, BIS said in a March 5 order. The agency said it will waive MSI’s three-year export denial if the company pays the fine, cooperates with BIS during a three-year probationary period and doesn’t commit any more EAR violations.