The U.S. this week warned ship owners and service providers of new “deceptive practices” being used by Russia to evade the oil price cap, particularly for oil exported through the Eastern Siberia Pacific Ocean (ESPO) pipeline and ports on the eastern coast of Russia. Shippers, traders and others should watch for several red flags to avoid helping Russia evade the cap, the Office of Foreign Assets Control said in an April 17 alert.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned five individuals in China and Guatemala as well as two Chinese entities for supplying Mexican drug cartels with precursor chemicals for illegal fentanyl production, OFAC said in a news release last week.

The U.S. this week announced new Russia-related trade restrictions, adding 28 entities to the Commerce Department’s Entity List and more than 100 entries to the Treasury Department’s Specially Designated Nationals List. The measures target people and companies either operating in Russia, aiding the country’s war against Ukraine or helping Moscow evade sanctions.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week published three previously issued general licenses under its Libyan Sanctions Regulations. The notice includes the full text of each license.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week added one entry to its Specially Designated Nationals List for counter-terrorism reasons and updated two other entries. Sanctions now apply to Sami Mahmud Mohammed al-Uraydi. OFAC didn’t immediately provide more information and directed questions to the State Department. A State Department spokesperson didn’t comment.

The U.S. announced new measures against people and companies helping Russia evade sanctions, adding 28 entities to the Commerce Department’s Entity List and more than 50 new entries to the Treasury Department’s Specially Designated Nationals List. The Entity List additions, effective April 12, include companies in China, Armenia, Malta, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Syria, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Uzbekistan, all of which have supported Russia’s military or defense industrial base. New designations imposed by Treasury and the State Department target people and companies operating in Russia or that are aiding Moscow's war effort and its imports of “critical technologies."

Microsoft will pay more than $3.3 million combined to settle alleged export control and sanctions violations largely related to its foreign subsidiaries, the Bureau of Industry and Security and the Office of Foreign Assets Control said in a pair of news releases April 6.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned Gary Bodeau, the former president of the Haitian Chamber of Deputies, for his “extensive involvement in corruption.” The agency imposed sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act against Bodeau, who has “created an environment that empowers illegal armed gangs and their supporters to inflict violence on the Haitian people,” said Brian Nelson, the Treasury Department’s undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence.

The U.S. this week sanctioned Genesis Market, one of the world’s “largest illicit marketplaces,” for illegally selling stolen data, including usernames and passwords. The marketplace is “believed” to be based in Russia, the Office of Foreign Assets Control said, where it operates as one of the “most prominent brokers of stolen credentials and other sensitive information,” including information from U.S. and international companies. Cybercriminals also have used Genesis Market to target the U.S. government, OFAC said.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned Lebanese brothers Raymond Zina Rahme and Teddy Zina Rahme, along with their companies, for corruption and other activities that “contribute to the breakdown of the rule of law in Lebanon.” OFAC said the brothers use United Arab Emirates-based ZR Energy DMCC and Lebanon-based ZR Group Holding SAL and ZR Logistics SAL to win government contracts through a “highly opaque public tendering process.”