Three members of a Florida family were charged with conspiracy to violate U.S. sanctions on Iran and money laundering, the Department of Justice said. Mohammad Faghihi, along with his wife, Farzeneh Modarresi, and sister, Faezeh Faghihi, led Florida-based Express Gene -- a company that allegedly received multiple wire transfers from accounts in Malaysia, China, Singapore, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, totaling nearly $3.5 million, between October 2016 and November 2020. Some of this money allegedly was used to buy and then ship genetic sequencing equipment to Iran without a license from the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control, DOJ said.

Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with the top stories for Sept. 7-10 in case you missed them. You can find any article by searching the title or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Sept. 13 amended two Russia-related entries on its Specially Designated Nationals List. The entries are for Russia’s 27th Scientific Center and the 33rd Scientific Research and Testing Institute, both of which were sanctioned in March in response to the Russian government’s poisoning and imprisonment of opposition leader Alexei Navalny (see 2103020067).

The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Sept. 10 again extended a general license that continues to delay certain transactions related to Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A.. General License No. 5H, which replaced No. 5G (see 2107210009), now authorizes certain transactions with PdVSA involving an 8.5% bond on or after Jan. 1, 2022. The agency also updated a frequently asked question to reflect the change. The previous license was set to allow those transactions to occur on or after Oct. 21.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control fined a Texas hardware and software company more than $180,000 for illegally exporting goods, technology and services that were intended to be used in Iran, OFAC said Sept. 9. The company, NewTek, which develops and supplies live production and 3D animation hardware and software systems, voluntarily self-disclosed its 52 violations of the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations. OFAC said the company didn’t have an export control or sanctions compliance program.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control Sept. 8 released its annual terrorist assets report for 2020. The report includes an overview of OFAC terrorism sanctions, their impact, enforcement measures and a summary of blocked assets.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control said it decided to remove sanctions against three people and a vessel last week (see 2109020028) because “circumstances no longer warrant” their inclusion on the Specially Designated Nationals List, the agency said. The sanctions were removed from three Balkans-related entries and one vessel designated under Cuba sanctions. OFAC also changed identifying information for the entry for the vessel Sand Swan, including by revising its name to Ebano. It also updated identifying information for the vessel Tifon.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control is seeking comments by Nov. 8 on an information collection related to its Rough Diamonds Control Regulations, the agency said in a notice. The collection involves the ultimate consignee listed on a customs form for trade in rough diamonds.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned four Iranian intelligence operatives who targeted a U.S. citizen and Iranian dissidents to silence their criticisms of the Iranian government, OFAC said Sept. 3. The agency designated senior intelligence official Alireza Shahvaroghi Farahani, who led a failed kidnapping attempt against a U.S. journalist and human rights activist. Others involved in the plot were intelligence operatives Mahmoud Khazein, Kiya Sadeghi and Omid Noori, all of whom were also sanctioned. OFAC said they researched options to abduct the journalist in New York City and transport him to Venezuela on “military-style speedboats.” The group also targeted dissidents in the United Kingdom, Canada and the United Arab Emirates, OFAC said.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Sept. 2 removed four entries from its Specially Designated Nationals List. Three are Balkans related: Jovan Djogo, Momcilo Krajisnik and Dragan Nikolic. The fourth is Cuba-related, the vessel Hermann. OFAC also revised two Cuba-related entries for the vessels Sand Swan and Tifon. The agency didn’t immediately provide more information on the changes.