The Treasury Department announced it has imposed sanctions on seven individuals and four entities based in Iran, the People’s Republic of China, Russia and Türkiye in connection with Iran’s unmanned aerial vehicle and military aircraft development.

Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned two commercial entities related to the conflict in Sudan, as well as five entities and two individuals involved in the procurement of sensitive parts for Iran’s one-way attack unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) program. Elsewhere, OFAC sanctioned several Sinaloa Cartel affiliates and fugitives affiliated with Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel. Responsible for a significant portion of the illicit fentanyl and other deadly drugs trafficked into the United States, the Sinaloa Cartel is one of the world’s most damaging transnational criminal organizations. Additionally, OFAC sanctioned the leader of the Clan del Golfo, one of Colombia’s largest criminal enterprises that controls most of the country’s cocaine cultivation, production, and transportation routes.

As a follow-up to the establishment of the “Export Enforcement Five” or “E5” partnership to coordinate on export control enforcement issues in June 2023, the governments of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States have issued joint guidance to industry and academia identifying high priority items critical to Russian weapons systems and urging specific actions to prevent diversion of these items to Russia through third countries.

The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) added 28 entities to its Entity List Monday, 24 September. The entities include 11 in China, 5 in Russia, 5 in Pakistan, and others in Finland, Oman, Germany, and the UAE. They have been implicated in activities threatening U.S. national security or foreign policy.

On July 3, 2023, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued a recent actions notice, reminding holders of property blocked pursuant to OFAC sanctions regulations published in Chapter V of Title 31 of the Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.) of the requirement to provide OFAC with an Annual Report of Blocked Property (ARBP).  

3M has agreed to settle its potential civil liability for 54 apparent violations of OFAC sanctions on Iran that arose from its subsidiary’s sale of reflective license plate sheeting to an Iranian entity controlled by the Iranian Law Enforcement Forces. OFAC determined that these apparent violations were egregious and were voluntarily self-disclosed, and imposed a $9,618,477 settlement

U.S. government announced the establishment of a humanitarian channel in Qatar (HC) to further facilitate the flow of humanitarian assistance to the people of Iran consistent with the U.S. government’s longstanding support for humanitarian trade. Similar to humanitarian channels established under previous administrations, the HC is designed to support the Iranian people’s access to food, agricultural goods, medicine, and medical devices under stringent due diligence measures that guard against money laundering, misuse, and evasion of U.S. sanctions

Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), in coordination with the Drug Enforcement Administration, designated key Hizballah operatives and financial facilitators in South America and Lebanon. This action includes the senior Hizballah operative, who carried out the terrorist attack against the Asociacion Mutual Israelita Argentina (AMIA) in Argentina in 1994 that killed 85 people. Amer Mohamed Akil Rada and his associates manage a commercial enterprise for Hizballah, including charcoal exports to Lebanon.

Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is designating 29 individuals and entities in connection with the Iranian regime’s violent suppression of nationwide protests following the death of Mahsa “Zhina” Amini in custody of its ‘Morality Police,’ and the regime’s continued efforts to detain dissenting voices and restrict access to a free and open internet. 

GLs 8 and 9 were issued on August 9, 2023, regarding: Transactions Involving Joint Stock Company Byelorussian Steel Works Transactions Involving Open Joint Stock Company Belavia Belarusian Airlines

Along with numerous Russian entities and persons, OFAC is is designating a Finland-based network that specializes in shipping foreign electronics to Russia-based end-users, as well as Turkish firms involved in the shipment of dual-use items into Russia.

OFAC continues its efforts to target Russian elites and firms that benefit from their ties to Russia’s defense sector, military-industrial complex, and affiliation with the Kremlin.   September 13 OFAC imposed nearly 100 sanctions on Russian elites and Russia’s industrial base, financial institutions, and technology suppliers, along with designations of more than 70 persons. Industries affected range from Railroad Equipment and heavy machinery to digital optical systems, diamonds traders, and the Wagner Group's advisor to the president of the Central African Republic. …

The European Council sanctioned six individuals responsible for serious human rights violations in the Russian Federation and in the territories of Ukraine that Russia has temporarily occupied, including violations of freedom of opinion and expression. The individuals listed include prosecutors and judges active in courts established by Russia’s occupying force in illegally annexed Crimea. as well as two members of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB) that either took part in torturing journalist Vladyslav Yesypenko, or conducted the investigations in his case, and those of members of the Crimean Tatar community, and of the Jehovah’s Witnesses in Crimea.

Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned a Sudanese Military Leader for his command of  an entity whose members have engaged in acts of violence and human rights abuses, including the massacre of civilians, ethnic killings, and use of sexual violence. Meanwhile, in Stockholm, trial has begun for two senior executives of Lundin Oil, responsible for engaging the Sudanese Armed Forces to ensure security for their production interests in South Sudan in between 1997 and 2003.

Treasury's Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) announced the removal of the motor yacht Flying Dragon from the list of Specially Designated Nationals and blocked Persons.

Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued a Temporary Denial Order (TDO) against three individuals and four companies implicated in illicitly supplying the Russian military with U.S.-sourced micro-electronics having significant military applications.

The Department of State is imposing sanctions and pursuing visa restrictions onindividuals and entities connected to forcible transfer and deportation of Ukraine’s children.   "On Ukrainian Independence Day, we are sanctioning two entities and 11 individuals for their involvement in the forcible transfer of Ukraine’s children to Russia-occupied areas. Ukraine’s children are not forgotten,” Secretary Blinken on Twitter.

OFAC is releasing the second episode of its “Introduction to OFAC” web series, a series of short videos created to provide viewers with a high-level introduction on the fundamentals of …

Chinese printer manufacture Ninestar, parent of Lexmark International, has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and other related parties of the U.S. government before the U.S. Court of International Trade. DHS added Ninestar and certain of its subsidiaries to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) Entity List, and the company "is suffering irreparable harm to its business and reputation based on the listing," according to a statement.

Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned six individuals for contributing to the most recent escalation of conflict in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Individuals sanctioned include the FDLR’s defense commissioner and a Brigadier General in in charge of intelligence, as well as the leader of the the FDLR-affiliated Maccabe group, formerly known as the Commando de Recherche et D’Action en Profondeur(CRAP).  Additional individuals named include a Colonel in the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo, and a Brigadier General of the Rwandan defense forces (RDF)