The Office of Foreign Assets Control added eight individuals and seven entities to its Specially Designated Nationals list, under Syria and nonproliferation designations, OFAC said (here).
The Office of Foreign Assets Control answered two frequently asked questions (Nos. 43 and 50) on use of the dollar in certain transactions with Cuba on July 8 (here). The questions cover whether U.S. nationals may conduct dollar transactions in Cuba or with Cuban nationals, and whether correspondent accounts of depository instruments of a Cuban financial institution may be established and maintained in U.S. dollars.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on July 6 designated North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, along with 10 other individuals and five entities of the North Korean regime, for ties to human rights violations in the country, OFAC said (here). Sanctions included the following groups:
The Office of Foreign Assets Control issued a general license under “Kingpin Act/Panama” on July 1, OFAC said (here). General License 4C authorizes certain transactions involving individuals or entities in the Kingpin Act-designated Soho Mall Panama and “associated complex” to "wind down" operations, maintain the mall complex, conduct activities with non-designated financial institutions, and accept payments by non-designated people and entities, OFAC said. U.S. persons participating in newly authorized "wind down" and maintenance transactions must file a report on the activities with OFAC within 10 business days after they conclude, according to the general license (here). General License 4C supersedes related General License 4B, which OFAC issued June 10 (see 1606130056).
The Office of Foreign Assets Control and Alcon Laboratories have reached a $7.6 million settlement agreement to settle potential civil liability stemming from 452 alleged violations of Iran sanctions regulations and 61 violations of Sudan sanctions regulations, after Alcon sold and exported medical end-use surgical and pharmaceutical products to the countries without OFAC authorization, the agency said (here). OFAC found that Alcon didn’t make a voluntary self-disclosure, and showed “reckless disregard” for sanctions requirements by not maintaining a compliance program, but said that Alcon’s alleged violations were not egregious. Mitigating factors that OFAC determined include Alcon’s blank sanctions violation history, the company’s cooperation with OFAC, and the apparent actions’ minimal harm to U.S. sanctions objectives, because the exports involved licensable medical end-use products, OFAC said.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control is proposing to raise for inflation the maximum amount of civil monetary penalties assessable under five U.S. sanctions programs. The proposed rule (here), which would take effect Aug. 1, would make the following changes:
The Office of Foreign Assets Control has added one individual to its Specially Designated Nationals list, under Democratic Republic of the Congo Sanctions designations, OFAC said (here).
HyperBranch Medical Technology agreed to pay $107,691 as part of a settlement with the Office of Foreign Assets Control, after HyperBranch allegedly exported thousands of units of sealant to a United Arab Emirates distributor, either knowing or having “reason to know” the goods were headed to Iran, which would violate Iran Sanctions Regulations, OFAC said (here). HyperBranch in 2011 allegedly sent 4,000 units of sealant and 80 samples to its UAE distributor, OFAC said. The company, however, voluntarily self-disclosed the apparent violations, which constitute a “non-egregious” case, OFAC determined. HyperBranch is paying $51,851 less than the statutory minimum for the alleged penalties. Among other things, OFAC considered as mitigating factors the high likelihood the medical end-use products were eligible for a specific license, translating to minimal harm to U.S. sanctions program objectives; and the lack of prior HyperBranch OFAC sanctions history.
Two men in separate cases pleaded guilty to charges related to breaking Iran sanctions regulations, the Justice Department said June 14 (here) in notices posted on Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security website. Asim Fareed pleaded guilty to conspiring to provide false statements related to illegal goods exports to Iran before a magistrate judge in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. Fareed agreed to ship items bought by Iranian customers from New Jersey to Iran, and to provide false documentation to Commerce for export purposes, according to a press release. No sentencing date has been scheduled. In a New York federal court, Global Metallurgy CEO Erdal Kuyumcu pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, in connection with the export of specialty metals from the U.S. to Iran. Kuyumcu “conspired” to obtain and export from the U.S. to Iran a metallic powder composed of cobalt and nickel without obtaining the required Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) license. The powder can be used for turbine blades, missile production and nuclear applications, among other things. As part of the conspiracy, the 1,000-pound shipment was to go to Turkey before arriving in Iran. Kuyumcu faces up to 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control issued one general license under “Kingpin Act/Honduras” entities and three general licenses under “Kingpin Act/Panama” on June 10, OFAC said (here). General License 1B (here) will allow certain transactions and activities to liquidate and “wind down” Honduran Banco Continental, while General licenses 4B (here), 5A (here) and 6A (here) relax restrictions on previously barred transactions with certain designees. 4B will supersede 4A and authorize transactions involving shipment orders placed before May 5, 2016, with the Kingpin Act-designated Soho Mall Panama and “associated complex,” the general license said. General License 5A supersedes General License 5, and permits exportation and re-exportation of software, hardware and related services -- among other activities -- that are necessary for a Panamanian Government examination of the viability of Balboa Bank & Trust, following the government’s seizure of the institution. Finally, General License 6A authorizes similar goods exports to Panama that are necessary to conduct a government investigation of Balboa Securities’ inventory of assets and liability. OFAC has also updated its four frequently questions asked regarding “Counter Narcotics Sanctions,” the agency said (here).