A Latvia-based bank reached a $3.4 million settlement with the Office of Foreign Assets Control to resolve allegations it violated U.S. sanctions relating to Crimea, OFAC said June 20. Swedbank Latvia AS, a subsidiary of Sweden-based Swedbank AB, allowed a customer to use its e-banking platform from an internet protocol address in Crimea to send payments to persons in Crimea through U.S. correspondent banks, OFAC said, which resulted in 386 violations of U.S. sanctions.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned Mexico-based Hernandez Salas transnational criminal organization, a human smuggling group, and several of its members and affiliated entities. The June 16 designations target Mexican national Ofelia Hernandez Salas, the organization’s leader, and Mexican nationals Raul Saucedo Huipio, Jesus Gerardo Chavez Tamayo, Fatima Del Rocio Maldonado Lopez and Federico Hernandez Sanchez for working with the organization. OFAC also sanctioned Mexican entities Hotel Plaza and Hotel Las Torres to “conduct human smuggling activities.”

The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week updated a Russia-related entry on its Specially Designated Nationals List. The entry is Hong Kong-based Gold Miles Limited, which was sanctioned in May as part of the Biden administration’s rollout of more than 300 new designations targeting supporters of Russia (see 2305190059). Gold Miles was designated for being owned by Irish national John Desmond Hanafin, founder of a company that OFAC said has helped move Russian money into the United Arab Emirates to protect it from Western sanctions.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned two North Korean nationals involved in procuring equipment and materials for the country’s ballistic missile program. OFAC said Choe Chol Min, based in Beijing, works with North Korean weapons trading officials, Chinese nationals and others to purchase “a range of items” used to produce missiles. His wife, Choe Un Jong, also based in Beijing, is “officially assigned” to the North Korean Embassy in China and helped coordinate an order for dual-use bearings that are used in the missiles.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week renewed three General Licenses, which were scheduled to expire June 17, that expand and clarify humanitarian-related exemptions for shipments and activities related to Syria, Iran and Venezuela (see 2106180015 and 2206100030). OFAC also updated a guidance on providing humanitarian aid to combat COVID-19.

An Iranian car manufacturer is asking a federal court to order the Treasury Department to remove it from a U.S. sanctions list, saying Treasury has “no real intention of rescinding” its designation no matter what evidence it is shown. Bahman Group, which was first sanctioned in 2018, said Treasury continues to “manufacture a pretext” to maintain sanctions against the company despite being provided proof that it’s no longer engaging in sanctionable activities.

The Treasury Department should sanction Russian state-owned nuclear company Rosatom, a “major source of funds” for Moscow and “one of the only largely unsanctioned Russian energy companies,” said Gregory Meeks, the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s top Democrat. Meeks, speaking during a June 13 House Financial Services Committee hearing, pointed to his bill introduced last month that would require the administration to designate Rosatom (see 2305120015).

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Recent U.S. sanctions against an Iranian procurement network and drug traffickers in Mexico signal a trend within the Biden administration toward using sanctions to target “transnational organized crime,” Herbert Smith said in a June client alert. The firm suggested that companies should make sure their anti-money laundering and “know your customer” procedures are incorporated as “an integral part of sanctions compliance” due to the U.S.'s “increasing sanctions focus on transnational crime and money laundering.”

The Bureau of Industry and Security added 43 entities to the Entity List this week, including companies conducting various activities that either support China’s military or allow the government to “carry out human rights abuses.” Other entities were added for supporting Pakistan’s ballistic missile program or other weapons capabilities.