Organizations complying with Australian anti-money laundering and counterterrorism financing rules may soon be required to carry out certain sanctions screening procedures to make sure they’re not violating the country’s sanctions laws.

The Council of the European Union on June 23 sanctioned five people associated with the regime of former Syrian President Bashar Assad for their "crimes against humanity and for fueling sectarian violence." Three of the people -- Miqdad Fatiha, Ghaith Dalla and Suhayl al-Hasan -- are former members of the Syrian Republic Guard and Armed Forces who formed militias that "fueled sectarian tensions and incited violence" after the fall of the Assad regime. The council also listed two businessmen, Mudalal Khoury and Imad Khoury, who helped finance crimes against humanity committed under the regime, including the use of chemical weapons.

The U.K.'s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation on June 18 removed one entry from its global anti-corruption sanctions list and added one entry to its ISIL (Da'esh) and al-Qaida sanctions list. Under the anti-corruption sanctions regime, OFSI removed Bosnian national Slobodan Tesic, who was originally listed for bribing both the former chief state prosecutor and minister of defense of Bosnia. Under the ISIL sanctions list, OFSI added Ugandan Abubakar Swalleh for acting as an ISIL facilitator since 2018 by providing financial support for ISIL in East and Southern Africa.

The U.S. last week sanctioned four people, 12 entities, and two vessels that have imported oil and other goods for the Houthis in what was the “single largest action” taken by the Office of Foreign Assets Control against the Yemen-based designated terror group. OFAC said the designations target Houthi front companies, their owners, and other “key” operatives that generate revenue for the group through sales of oil and other commodities on Yemen’s black market and through smuggling at Houthi-controlled ports.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control last week sanctioned a network of companies and a vessel for helping to ship sensitive machinery to Iran, including from China.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control last week removed sanctions from Sakan General Trading, also known as Royal Credit General Trading, a United Arab Emirates company sanctioned by the agency in 2019. The company was designated for providing currency exchange support and financing for the currency exchange arm of Ansar Bank, a bank controlled by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. An OFAC spokesperson didn't respond to a request for comment, and the agency didn't immediately release more information about the delisting.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control on June 20 again extended a general license that continues to delay an exemption that would authorize certain transactions related to Petroleos de Venezuela, Venezuela’s state-owned energy company. General License 5S, which replaced GL 5R, now authorizes certain transactions with PdVSA involving an 8.5% bond on or after Dec. 20. The previous license was set to allow those transactions to occur on or after July 3.

Australia this week sanctioned 60 ocean vessels with ties to Russia's shadow fleet, the group of ships helping the country evade sanctions on transported oil and other goods. The designations mark the first time Australia has sanctioned Russian shadow fleet ships, the country's Office of the Minister for Foreign Affairs said, adding that the "sanctions reinforce Australia’s consistent commitment to ensuring Russia, and those enabling its illegal invasion of Ukraine, face consequences." The ministry said the ships use "deceptive practices" to hide their cargo, "including flag-hopping, disabling tracking systems, and operating with inadequate insurance."

The U.K. issued a threat assessment June 18 for art market participants and high-value dealers to address Russian sanctions violation risks in the art industry. The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation said it's "highly likely that high value goods" owned by sanctioned parties in the U.K. haven't been reported to OFSI, and it's "likely" that Russian sanctioned parties and their enablers have dealt with high-value goods in the U.K. in "breach of asset freeze prohibitions."

Canada this week announced a host of new sanctions against Russia, designating 77 people, 39 entities and 201 vessels and imposing new export and import restrictions on industrial goods, dual-use technologies and more.