Category: Sanctions

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…