The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned a network of Iranian petrochemical producers, as well as front companies in China and the United Arab Emirates. The front companies support Triliance and PCC, which broker sales of Iranian petrochemicals to China and East Asia, circumventing sanctions, OFAC said in a June 16 press release. The agency sanctioned two people and nine entities.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control designated Stanislav Shevchuk and Alexander Zhuchkovsky, two "key supporters" of the ethnically motivated violent extremist group known as the Russian Imperial Movement, according to a June 15 notice.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control renewed a Russia-related general license authorizing certain energy-related transactions with several Russian companies. General License 8C, which replaces GL 8B (see 2204060051), authorizes the transactions through 12:01 a.m. EST Dec. 5. The license was previously scheduled to expire June 24. OFAC updated its frequently asked questions to reflect the change.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control is soliciting comments concerning information collection activities required by the Iranian Financial Sanctions Regulations Report on Closure by U.S. Financial Institutions of Correspondent Accounts and Payable-Through Accounts. Comments are due by Aug. 15.

U.S.-based Hygienic Dress League Corp said it may have violated U.S. sanctions, according to a June 9 SEC filing. The company, which operates in the non-fungible-tokens sector, said it recently submitted a voluntary self-disclosure to the Office of Foreign Assets Control after it may have allowed its software to be downloaded by people or entities located in territories subject to U.S. trade embargoes. After learning of the potential violations, the company began an “internal review” and took “remedial action designed to prevent similar activity from occurring in the future,” the filing said. The disclosure is still under review by OFAC.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control issued General Licenses related to Syria, Iran and Venezuela, "Authorizing Certain Activities to Respond to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic," according to a June 10 notice.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control on June 9 published new Russia-related frequently asked questions to clarify which activities are prohibited by its restrictions surrounding accounting, corporate formation and management consultant services (see 2205090042).

Amid the rapid pace of Russia-related sanctions and export controls, regulators around the world are sometimes struggling or unwilling to provide timely and clear answers to industry questions about the trade restrictions, lawyers said. The issue is especially problematic in Europe, they said, where sanctions guidance may differ among the 27 EU member states and U.K. general licenses can be delayed or unhelpful.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control issued a final rule this week that will officially loosen some Trump-era restrictions on Cuba, including on certain remittances to the island (see 2009230029 and 2010230024). The changes, previewed by the administration in May (see 2205170004) and effective June 9, will amend the Cuban Assets Control Regulations by removing the limit on family remittances of $1,000 per quarter. It will also authorize donative remittances to Cuba, remove restrictions on certain "academic educational activities," and allow travel to Cuba related to educational groups or professional meetings or conferences. The rule also made technical changes to the CACR by adding and updating "several cross references."

The U.S. should soon impose “hard-hitting” Magnitsky sanctions against Chinese artificial intelligence surveillance company Hikvision for its role in human rights violations in Xinjiang, which could help deter other companies from supporting the region’s surveillance complex, said Dahlia Peterson, a research analyst at Georgetown University's Center for Security and Emerging Technology. Although the U.S. added Hikvision to the Entity List in 2019 (see 2205090014), placing the company on the Treasury Department’s Specially Designated Nationals List would “be a step forward,” Peterson said.