Category: Sanctions

Active Shipping Companies Linked to Oil Smuggling and Sanctioned Terror Financiers

Sanctions, Terrorism
On Jun. 10, 2021 the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated a group of individuals and companies as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGT). The designation is due to the group’s role in smuggling petrochemicals for Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps – Qods Force (IRGC-QF) and using the proceeds to finance Houthi rebels in Yemen. Using public records, we found multiple active companies linked to this network in the Middle East, Europe, and Latin America. These general trading and shipping companies, which remain unsanctioned, pose a risk to individuals or companies that might unknowingly do business with them,…

FinCEN Announces New Acting Director

Sanctions, Terrorism
WASHINGTON—Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) Acting Director Michael Mosier today announced he will depart FinCEN at the end of the week for a new opportunity, after serving as the organization’s acting director. Himamauli “Him” Das, a national security expert with experience at the White House, National Security Council, National Economic Council, and Departments of State and the Treasury, will assume the role of acting director of FinCEN. Today, Treasury launched a public search for a permanent FinCEN director. “It is an honor to be returning to the Department of the Treasury as acting director of FinCEN to continue the important…

Sanctions Fine for U.K. FinTech

Sanctions
Over a period of around 21 months up to 18 December 2019, TransferGo facilitated a series of 16 payments to accounts held at the Russian National Commercial Bank (RNCB). During that period, the RNCB was subject to EU sanctions imposed in relation to Russia’s annexation of Crimea. The EU’s sanctions regulations applied directly in the UK during that time as it preceded the end of the Brexit transition period. RNCB remains a sanctions target under the UK sanctions regime, which now operates distinctly from the EU sanctions framework. According to the OFSI, TransferGo had claimed that because “the relevant clients…

Equatorial Guinea to Close Embassy After U.K. Sanctioned President’s Son

Sanctions
In protest of the United Kingdom’s decision to put the son of President Teodoro Obiang Mangue on the latest list of individuals sanctioned for corruption, Equatorial Guinea said on Monday it will close its embassy in London. The U.K. last Thursday announced new sanctions against five individuals from Equatorial Guinea, Zimbabwe, Venezuela and Iraq for their involvement in “serious corruption” that has deprived citizens in these countries of “vital resources.” The announcement marks the second round of designations under the U.K.’s Global Anti-Corruption sanctions regime inaugurated in April when 22 individuals were targeted with asset freezes and travel bans. The…

Unseen and Unsanctioned, Belarusian Tycoon Slipped into the EU via Lithuanian Investments

Sanctions
Alexei Aleksin and Alexander Zaytsev have emerged as two of the wealthiest businessmen in Belarus. What are they doing in Lithuania? Key Findings Aleksin and Zaytsev began to receive generous economic preferences from dictator Alexander Lukashenko in the aftermath of 2012 sanctions against his regime. Around the same time, they managed to obtain Lithuanian residency permits and opened companies there. The nature of their activities in Lithuania raise serious questions about what they are doing in the EU member state. Aleksin registered a company in an abandoned building, then used it to buy an apartment where two more firms are…

New U.K. Sanctions Against Individuals Involved in Corruption Around the World

Corruption, Sanctions
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has announced further sanctions on individuals under the UK’s Global Anti-Corruption sanctions regime. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab today announces new UK sanctions against 5 individuals involved in serious corruption in Equatorial Guinea, Zimbabwe, Venezuela and Iraq sanctions target cases of serious corruption which have deprived developing countries of vital resources one of those designated spent millions of misappropriated funds on mansions, private jets and a $275,000 glove that Michael Jackson wore on his ‘Bad’ tour, another ruthlessly exploited public food programmes in Venezuela. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has today announced further sanctions on individuals under the…

Russian oligarchs the ‘most sophisticated in the world’ at dodging KYC and evading sanctions

KYC, Sanctions
THE CAPACITY OF Russian oligarchs to work around rigorous KYC rules and international sanctions is the strongest in the world, a former FATF President has warned. Their methods were so capable that their identity may remain hidden even if a financial institution makes every effort to root out accurate beneficial ownership information, he suggested. In the same speech, he also hit out at the Russian FIU Rosfinmonitoring claiming that it was “firmly under the control” of the country’s Federal Security Service (FSB) and headed by a sixteen-year veteran of the Soviet KGB. Billingslea believes the FIU allows state-sponsored money-laundering schemes…

Biden-Harris administration: 100-day review of Sanctions policy

Sanctions
When the Biden administration took office on 20 January 2021 it had already announced that there would be reviews of how the US deals with international partnerships. Under the previous administration the US had left the Paris accord on climate change and the World Health Organisation (WHO). Within a day of taking office the new administration set in motion the reversal of both the withdrawal from the Paris agreement and WHO membership. US secretary of the treasury Janet Yellen has said that one of her top priorities is to review the US use of sanctions as well as those that…

New Magnitsky style sanctions regime will strengthen Britain’s toolkit for tacking global corruption and dirty money

Corruption, Sanctions
Transparency International UK welcomes the announcement of a new corruption sanctions regime by Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab. The new regime gives Britain the power to designate individuals and companies involved in serious corruption around the world, adding another option to the UK’s growing array of sanctions for corruption offences. The UK Government has published an initial list of 22 designated persons who are the first targets of the regime. Those that are designated will have their British assets frozen and be banned from travelling to the UK. The regime is international in scope, enabling the UK to align itself with…

UK Sanctions 22 Individuals for ‘Serious International Corruption’

Sanctions
The U.K. government has imposed asset freezes and travel bans against 22 individuals from six countries in its first set of measures under the nation’s new Global Anti-Corruption sanctions regime. The move, announced this week, seeks to “prevent those responsible from entering the U.K. or laundering their ill-gotten assets here,” and “ensure that the U.K. is not a safe haven for those involved in serious corruption, including those who profit from it,” Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab wrote in a statement delivered to Parliament on Monday. The first group of individuals sanctioned under the new regime hail from Russia, South Africa,…

North Korea is the most isolated country on the planet, but it still finds ways to steal billions of dollars

Financial Crime, Sanctions
The Department of Justice said last month that North Korea has used cyberattacks to steal over $1 billion since 2015 to fund its nuclear weapons program. Heavy sanctions, imposed by both the US and the UN, prevent North Korea from participating in the formal global economy. The regime often circumvents these sanctions, mostly through secretive ship-to-ship transfers of luxury goods, chemicals, and coal, which is North Korea’s primary export. North Korea’s nuclear program is essential to the Kim regime, and it devotes all the resources it can to increasing and improving its arsenal. The rise of digital currencies has created…

Biden in no rush to lift Venezuela sanctions

Sanctions
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Joe Biden’s administration is in “no rush” to lift U.S. sanctions on Venezuela but would consider easing them if President Nicolas Maduro takes confidence-building steps showing he is ready to negotiate seriously with the opposition, a White House official told Reuters. Signaling that the new U.S. president may be unlikely to loosen the screws on Venezuela anytime soon, the official emphasized that existing sanctions have enough special provisions to allow for humanitarian aid shipments to help Venezuelans cope with economic hardships and the COVID-19 pandemic. But the official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Maduro’s Socialist…

A Renewed Sanctions Strategy for the EU

Sanctions
Last week the European Commission released a communication on the future of Europe’s economic and financial system. This document, formally issued to European institutions including the Parliament, the Council and the Central Bank, places sanctions at the forefront as a key tool in the Commission’s strategy, especially when seen in contrast with previous publications of this type. The Commission’s ambition for the economic and financial system relies on a vision for “openness, strength and resilience”, based on three pillars: “Promoting a stronger international role of the Euro” “Further developing EU financial market infrastructures and improving their resilience, including towards the…

New EU sanctions regime is an important achievement but leaves the door open to dirty money

Sanctions
Global Witness, Transparency International EU, Open Society European Policy Institute and twelve other organisations welcome adoption of a new sanctions regime by the European Union to target human rights abusers worldwide. However, we urge the EU to adopt a complementary sanctions regime targeting non-EU nationals involved in corruption and align itself with other existing regimes in the US or Canada and in development in the UK. Today, the European Council announced adoption of the new Global Human RightsSanctions Regime. The regime tackles crimes against humanity, arbitrary arrests and extrajudicial killings. It also targets those responsible for human trafficking, sexual violence,…

UK Sanctions Statutory Instruments Review – Individual regime

Sanctions
The individual regime reviews are listed below. These documents are for the individual UK sanctions SI reviews and along with the numerical section review, they also separate the findings into high, medium and low impact sections.” AFGHANISTAN BOSNIA BURMA BURUNDI CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC CHEMICAL WEAPONS COUNTER TERRORISM (INTERNATIONAL) CYBER DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO EGYPT GLOBAL HUMAN RIGHTS GUINEA HAITI IRAN (HUMAN RIGHTS) IRAN IRAQ ISIL (DA’ESH) AND AL-QAIDA LEBANON (ASSASSINATION OF RAFIQ HARIRI AND OTHERS) LEBANON MALI MOLDOVA NICARAGUA NORTH KOREA REPUBLIC OF BELARUS REPUBLIC OF GUINEA-BISSAU RUSSIA SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO SOMALIA SOUTH SUDAN SUDAN SYRIA (UN) SYRIA VENEZUELA…

Quarterly report to Parliament: 1 April 2020 to 30 June 2020 (‘TAFA 2010’)

Sanctions
Written Ministerial StatementOperation of the UK’s Counter-Terrorist Asset Freezing Regime: 1 April 2020 to 30 June 2020 The Economic Secretary to the Treasury (John Glen): Under the Terrorist Asset-Freezing etc. Act 2010 (TAFA 2010), the Treasury is required to prepare a quarterly report regarding its exercise of the powers conferred on it by Part 1 of TAFA 2010. This written statement satisfies that requirement for the period 1 April 2020 to 30 June 2020. This report also covers the UK’s implementation of the UN’s ISIL (Da’esh) and Al-Qaida asset freezing regime (ISIL-AQ), and the operation of the EU’s asset freezing…

Legal monitors tell Deutsche Bank to quit Russia

Money Laundering, Sanctions
NEW YORK STATE-appointed monitors want Deutsche Bank to pull out of business in Russia completely, according to new reports. The advice comes despite the bank’s ambitions for expansion in the country – although its relationship with Russia has not been void of scandal or allegations of wrongdoing in recent years. The monitors told senior executive leaders at Deutsche that efforts to minimise financial crime risks would not be enough to offset those that came with certain Russian clients, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday after speaking to a source familiar with the communications. Both monitors are attorneys from Chicago-based law…

Sanctions and Transport

Sanctions
What are Transport Sanctions? From almost the first moment someone fashioned wood into a canoe to transport people and goods across a river there has been some form of maritime regulation. As with any regulations however, there will always be someone who seeks to circumvent them. Issues such as falsifying documents, obscuring ownership and hiding a ship’s registry have been endemic in the shipping industry for centuries. Unfortunately, there is no exception when it comes to enforcing sanctions. Such a multifaceted problem can never be tackled by one Government department alone. While OFSI plays its part in the implementation of…