Here is a recap of recent actions by the Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) from June 2021.

June 28: OFAC added Ousmane Illiasou, a Niger national to the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) List. Illiasou was designated in relation to counterterrorism concerns.

June 21: OFAC added 16 Belarusian individuals and five entities from Belarus to the Specially Designated Nationals List. These individuals and entities were associated with the fraudulent elections held in Belarus in August of 2020, as well as the violent suppression of protestors, opposition members, and journalists, violating international norms and hindering democracy.

June 16: OFAC added two new companies to the Non-SDN Chinese Military-Industrial Complex Companies list. The companies added are Aviation Industry Corp. of China and CNOOC Ltd. Both additions to the list are effective as of August 2, 2021.

June 10:

• OFAC designated members of a smuggling network that assists in funding Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force and the Houthis in Yemen, both contributing to Houthi aggression and instability in Yemen and the surrounding area. This action was taken consistent with counterterrorism authority under Executive Order (EO) 13224. This smuggling network is led by Houthi financier Sa’id al-Jamal, who directs a network of front companies and vessels that smuggle Iranian fuel and other products throughout the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. This designation included individuals, entities, and a Gabon-flagged vessel which had been used for past smuggling activities by the network.

• OFAC removed a number of Iranian nationals from the Specially Designated Nationals List. The individuals removed were largely associated with the Hong Kong Intertrade Company. OFAC also removed a number of Syrian companies from the list, many of which were associated with the previously identified Foz family, including a number of entities under ASM International.

See complete details here.

June 9: OFAC added four Nicaraguan individuals to the Specially Designated Nationals List in connection with the continued anti-democratic behavior and repression of citizens by the Ortega regime.

June 3: In accordance with newly amended EO 13959, OFAC added 59 companies to the Non-SDN Chinese Military-Industrial Complex Companies list. Addition to this list prohibits US persons from purchase or sale of any publicly traded securities of companies identified.

June 2: OFAC sanctioned three Bulgarian individuals, as well as 64 entities within their networks for their roles in Bulgarian corruption issues. The individuals identified are former members of the government of Bulgaria, a prominent Bulgarian businessman and oligarch, as well as businesses owned by the individuals. The designations were made under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, which targets perpetrators of corruption and human rights abuses around the world.

June 1: OFAC issued a general license to authorize transactions involving Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PdVSA) such as the transactions are necessary for limited maintenance of necessary operations or wind down of operations in Venezuela for certain entities and their subsidiaries.