Sanctions

Subscribe to Sanctions via RSS

The Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) further tightened U.S. sanctions on Cuba “for its repression of the Cuban people and its support of the Maduro regime in Venezuela.” Overall, the United States maintains a comprehensive embargo on trade with Cuba, and the export and reexport to Cuba of items subject to…

On October 14, 2019, President Donald Trump announced U.S. economic sanctions directed at the government of Turkey in response to Turkey’s military action in northeast Syria, “including but not limited to indiscriminate targeting of civilians, targeting of civilian infrastructure, targeting of ethnic or religious minorities, or targeting or other actions that undermine the continued counterterrorism…

In September, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) continued to tighten its sanctions on Iran and Venezuela, and addressed a sanctions-evading scheme for Syria involving several Russian entities.

  • Iran: On September 20, 2019, OFAC announced that it was designating the Central Bank of Iran (CBI), the National Development

…

The Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced that, effective October 9, 2019, the Cuban Assets Control Regulations (CACR) will be amended to further restrict certain financial transactions involving Cuba and to deny Cuba access to hard currency. In a press release, OFAC announced that these changes will amend certain…

In the past week, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has continued to increase pressure on Iran and North Korea by further identifying certain individuals and entities in the shipping sector as engaging in illicit activities and tightening related economic sanctions.

On August 30, 2019, OFAC designated two individuals, three…

President Trump yesterday signed an executive order imposing additional sanctions on the Venezuelan government. The order, “Blocking Property of the Government of Venezuela,” blocks all property and interests in property of the Venezuelan government within the jurisdiction of the United States. It authorizes the secretary of Treasury, in consultation with the secretary of State, to…

In May 2019, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) published the Framework for OFAC Compliance Commitments (“Framework”), which is intended to help organizations subject to U.S. jurisdiction, as well as foreign entities doing business in or with the United States, U.S. persons, or using U.S.-origin goods or services, to develop…

Following a week of escalating tensions, allegations that Iran attacked two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman, Iran’s threat to increase its stockpile of enriched uranium, and its acknowledged downing of an unmanned U.S. drone, President Donald Trump responded on June 24, 2019 by issuing an executive order sanctioning the Supreme Leader of Iran,…

On June 7, 2019, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned Iran’s largest petrochemical holding group, Persian Gulf Petrochemical Industries Company (PGPIC). In addition to PGPIC, OFAC placed 39 PGPIC subsidiaries and foreign-based sales agents on its Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) List. According to OFAC, PGPIC was sanctioned for having…

On June 5, 2019, the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) and the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) undertook coordinated actions to further restrict travel to Cuba “in order to hold the Cuban regime accountable for its repression of the Cuban people and its support of the…