The United Kingdom on June 17 posted cyber sanctions regulations to take effect after Brexit. The regulations outline U.K. powers to designate people and entities, criteria for sanctions and various definitions to aid in sanctions implementation. The regulations also detail information on exceptions and licenses for the sanctions, reporting obligations and penalties for violations.

The United Kingdom’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation amended 10 entries on its Iran sanctions list, a June 22 notice said. The entries include updated identifying information and are still subject to asset freezes. They include eight individuals and two entities.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control issued a technical notice June 22 informing industry of the agency’s upcoming annual renewal of the public certificate that secures its website. That renewal may impact OFAC sanctions list downloads “if your application pins or otherwise trusts the serial number of the existing certificate as part your application functionality.” OFAC said users “may need to update your configuration to trust the renewed certificate.” The certificate will be replaced at 9 p.m. on June 25 and will take about three to six hours for worldwide distribution, OFAC said. The notice contains a link to download the renewed public certificate. OFAC is advising users to make sure their applications trust the new certificate by the replacement date “to prevent loss in functionality.”

The U.S. renewed sanctions against North Korea for one year, according to a June 17 White House notice. The U.S. said North Korea’s weapons proliferation activities still pose a threat to U.S. national security. The national emergency executive order that was to expire June 26, 2020, will extend to June 26, 2021.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned three people, eight entities and two ships for evading U.S. sanctions against Venezuela, according to a June 18 press release. OFAC also issued a general license authorizing certain wind-down activities with two of the sanctioned entities and the two sanctioned ships.

The European Council renewed sanctions against Russia for its annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol, it said in a June 18 press release. The sanctions, extended until June 23, 2021, ban imports from Crimea into the European Union; block exports of certain goods and technologies to Crimean companies; and place restrictions on Crimea’s transport, telecommunications and energy sectors.

The United Kingdom released a June 16 guidance on the country’s Russia sanctions after Brexit, including the restrictions that will impact financial and investment actions with Russia. The guidance also includes a list of exceptions for doing business with Russian entities and frequently asked questions.

The State Department corrected its recent update to the Cuba Restricted List to also include FINCIMEX, which it omitted from the original notice. The U.S. updated the list last week to add seven entities for supporting the Castro regime (see 2006040014 and 2006110019).

The U.S. on June 17 sanctioned Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, members of his regime and other people and entities under the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act (see 1912270034). In total, the Treasury Department and the State Department sanctioned 39 people and entities for supporting the Assad regime. The designations are the start of a “sustained campaign of economic and political pressure” against the regime, the State Department said.

President Donald Trump on June 17 signed the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020 (see 2005280011), authorizing sanctions against Chinese officials for human rights abuses involving the country’s Uighur population. China has criticized the bill, warning that it will likely lead to heightened trade tensions (see 1912040046).