The Royal United Services Institute issued a March 5 report stating that a fleet of North Korean cargo ships is delivering coal to China in violation of international sanctions. RUSI called the operation a “large-scale, coordinated effort” to evade United Nations Sanctions, which includes North Korean ships transmitting “fake details” over their Automatic Identification System transponders when visiting Chinese waters. While RUSI says evidence of North Korea shipping coal to China first surfaced in a 2019 UN report, the institute said its findings confirm the UN information despite denials at the time from China. “Not only do North Korean vessels continue to visit this specific region,” RUSI said, “but they are doing so in unprecedented numbers.”

The U.S. is continuing sanctions against Venezuela, the White House said in a March 5 notice. The White House said Venezuela continues to threaten U.S. national security, and the sanctions will continue beyond the expiration date of March 8.

The Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control is removing the Terrorism Sanctions Regulations from the Code of Federal Regulations, OFAC said in a notice. The change was made due to the “termination of the national emergency on which the regulations were based.” The change will not affect any action taken or any action pending and not “finally concluded” as of 12:01 a.m. on Sept. 10, 2019, the notice said. The change is effective March 10.

The European Council renewed sanctions against 10 people for the misappropriation of Ukrainian state funds and corruption, the council said March 5. The sanctions, which include asset freezes, were renewed for one year until March 6, 2021.

The United Kingdom’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation added three entries to its ISIL (Da’esh) and al-Qaida sanctions list, according to a March 5 notice. The sanctions targeted Jamaah Ansharut Daulah, the “Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant -- Libya,” and the “Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant -- Yemen.” The three entries were added to the United Nations ISIL (Da’esh), al‑Qaida sanctions list March 4.

The United Kingdom’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation removed two entries from its sanctions list for misappropriation of funds and human rights violations related to Ukraine, according to a March 6 notice. The entries, Mykola Yanovych Azarov Edward Stavytskyi, are no longer subject to an asset freeze.

The United Kingdom’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation amended five entries under the country’s Libya sanctions, according to a March 6 notice. The entries are still subject to an asset freeze.

The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control issued a frequently asked question March 6 clarifying how humanitarian goods can be sent to Iran to assist with the coronavirus outbreak. OFAC said there are a “number of ways” humanitarian goods, including donations, can be sent to the country, adding that medical-related donations are “generally exempt” from U.S. sanctions if those donations are not being sent to the Iranian government or others blocked by the Iranian Transactions Sanctions Regulations. OFAC also said donations are not authorized for shipments to entries on the agency’s Specially Designated Nationals List. Nongovernmental organizations are authorized under General License E to export services to Iran “in support of certain not-for-profit activities designed to directly benefit the Iranian people,” OFAC said. Others interested in exporting humanitarian goods to Iran should review the ITSR and other OFAC guidance, the agency said.

The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned the Nicaraguan National Police (NNP) and three police commissioners, and issued two general licenses and a new frequently asked question, according to a March 5 news release. The sanctions target the police force for its role in human rights abuses, Treasury said, as well as commissioners Juan Antonio Valle Valle, Luis Alberto Perez Olivas and Justo Pastor Urbina for their roles as senior leaders of the group.

The United Kingdom’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation amended an entry in its ISIL (Da’esh) and al-Qaida sanctions regulations, according to a March 4 notice. The action amends the entry for Amadou Koufa, the founder of a West African terrorist group who was sanctioned by the United Nations Security Council in February (see 2002050016). Koufa is still subject to an asset freeze.