The Office of Foreign Assets Control added eight individuals and one entity to its Specially Designated Nationals list, under Kingpin Act designations, OFAC said (here). Separately, OFAC made several updates to the SDN List alongside the release of regulations to implement the Hizballah International Financing Prevention Act of 2015 (here).
The Office of Foreign Assets Control has removed several entities and individuals, and one vessel, previously sanctioned under the Kingpin Act from the Specially Designated Nationals list, OFAC said (here). OFAC also updated identifying information for one designee (here).
The Office of Foreign Assets Control will on April 6 implement sanctions against individuals contributing to unrest in Burundi, which President Barack Obama announced in a Nov. 22 executive order (see 1511270021), OFAC said (here). The sanctions block U.S. property and interests of sanctioned individuals as well as property and interests that come into the U.S. Obama on Dec. 21 announced Burundi’s removal from the African Growth and Opportunity Act list (see 1511270021). OFAC is publishing the regulations in abbreviated form to provide “immediate guidance to the public,” and will eventually publish a more comprehensive set of regulations, which may include additional general licenses and statements of licensing policy, OFAC said.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control added four individuals and two entities to its Specially Designated Nationals list, under counter terrorism designations, OFAC said (here).
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on March 29 will end the Highly Enriched Uranium (HEU) Agreement, which blocked Russian government property related to disposition of HEU extracted from nuclear weapons, OFAC said (here). The agency took the action because the national emergency on which the regulations were based has been canceled, it said. President Barack Obama on May 26 terminated a 2012 renewal of a 2000 executive order that activated the national emergency, which stated that Russia’s possession of a “large volume” of weapons-usable fissile material threatened U.S. national security and foreign policy. The HEU Agreements had been implemented successfully, allowing the discontinuation, OFAC said.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on March 24 issued General License I (here): Authorizing Certain Transactions Related to the Negotiation of, and Entry into, Contingent Contracts for Activities Eligible for Authorization Under the Statement of Licensing Policy for Activities Related to the Export or Re-export to Iran of Commercial Passenger Aircraft and Related Parts and Services. The license authorizes approved U.S. individuals to engage in “all transactions ordinarily incident to the negotiation of and entry into” contracts for activities eligible under U.S. licensing policy for export and re-export into Iran of commercial passenger aircraft and related items. OFAC also said it has updated its frequently asked questions on the lifting of secondary sanctions under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (here), as it relates to the general license. OFAC issued the license to facilitate more efficient processing of export and re-export applications, it said (here).
The Office of Foreign Assets Control is adding entities and individuals to its Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN) List (here), and is publishing updated identifying information for one individual and one entity on the SDN List, OFAC said (here).
The Office of Foreign Assets Control and Bureau of Industry and Security are again amending their regulations to allow more trade with Cuba. OFAC's final rule (here) will allow U.S. citizens living outside the U.S. to buy Cuban-origin goods for personal consumption. The rule, which makes changes to Cuban Assets Control Regulations, will also allow greater involvement by U.S. nationals and companies in Cuba, in line with reforms President Barack Obama announced in December 2014 to build closer ties between Washington and Havana, OFAC said. The new rule also will allow for more American companies, including cargo transportation services, to establish a business presence in Cuba, it said.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control added one individual and one entity to its Specially Designated Nationals list under Central African Republic conflict designations (here), and added two individuals to the list pursuant to Zimbabwe sanctions regulations (here), OFAC said. The agency has also frozen the assets of Tanzanian national Ali Khatib Haji Hassan (a.k.a. "Shkuba"), and has identified Hassan and the Hassan Drug Trafficking Organization as "significant foreign narcotics traffickers," pursuant to the Kingpin Act, OFAC said (here). Under the Kingpin designation, U.S. persons are "generally prohibited" from engaging in transactions with Hassan or his group.
The Bureau of Industry and Security should modify a proposed rule that would “significantly” alter the factors that BIS considers when setting penalties in various enforcement cases, said the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America in comments to the agency (here). The group said the rule (see 1512240003) could harm forwarders, NVOCCs, and exporters that might have -- “inadvertently or not” -- violated the Export Administration Regulations. The proposed changes are meant to make administrative penalties more predictable and better aligned with those used by the Office of Foreign Assets Control, BIS said in December (here). NCBFAA said it appreciates BIS’ effort to mesh its penalty enforcement guidelines with OFAC’s, but argues that, if enacted, the rule could birth an “unduly rigid enforcement mechanism.” The organization asserts the proposed process appears to be less flexible than the current one, and it believes the rule will likely prompt more enforcement cases and boost penalty amounts.