Chubb Limited, a Swiss holding company, was fined about $65,000 for more than 20,000 violations of the Cuban Assets Control Regulations, the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control said in an enforcement notice. The violations were the responsibility of ACE Limited -- an insurance and reinsurance service provider with locations in Switzerland, U.S. and Britain -- which merged with Chubb Corp. in 2016 to form Chubb Limited.
The United Kingdom's Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation renewed sanctions against Khalid Shaikh Mohammed under the Terrorist Asset-Freezing etc. Act of 2010, according to a Dec. 5 notice. The sanctions block transactions with Mohammed and freeze any of his financial accounts associated with the United Kingdom.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned more than 40 people and entities involved in corruption networks in Europe, Asia and Latin America, and issued a general license to allow for wind-down activities, according to a Dec. 9 notice.
A US telecommunications company may have violated U.S. sanctions against Sudan, according to the company’s Dec. 4 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Comtech Telecommunications Corp. disclosed to the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control in 2014 that it sent a “shipment of modems” to a Canadian customer, which was eventually “incorporated into a communication system” destined for an end-user at the Sudan Civil Aviation Authority, the filing said. OFAC subpoenaed Comtech in 2015 for information about the sale, the company said, which was worth about $288,000. Comtech responded to the subpoena and alerted OFAC of the company’s repair of three modems for a Lebanese customer who may have rerouted the modems from Lebanon to Sudan without the required U.S. license, the filing said. Comtech entered into two tolling agreements with OFAC, including one in November, which extends the statute of limitations in the case through June 2020.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned three Iranian militia leaders for attacks on peaceful protests and an Iraqi millionaire for corruption, Treasury said in a Dec. 6 press release. The militia leaders, Qais al-Khazali, Laith al-Khazali and Husayn Falih ‘Aziz al-Lami, opened fire on protesters, killing dozens, Treasury said. Both Qais al-Khazali and Laith al-Khazali are leaders of Iran-backed Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq, a militia in Iraq. ‘Aziz al-Lami was tasked by senior militia commanders to suppress protests in Iraq and was a part of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force. Khamis Farhan al-Khanjar al-Issawi, an Iraqi businessman, allegedly bribed government officials for “personal gain,” including by securing government contracts, Treasury said.
The State Department designated Amadou Kouffa a Specially Designated Global Terrorist, according to a notice. Kouffa was previously added to the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control’s Specially Designated Nationals List for his involvement with a West African terrorist group (see 1911070035).
Australia's parliament announced an inquiry to examine whether the country should adopt sanctions on human rights violations, the parliament said in a Dec. 4 press release. Kevin Andrews, a member of parliament and chair of the government’s Human Rights Subcommittee, said the inquiry will focus on Australia's current sanctions laws, its ability to impose sanctions on foreign actors committing human rights violations, its enforcement methods and a comparison to other jurisdictions to determine whether Australia's sanctions laws can be strengthened.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned 17 people and seven entities, including Russia-based Evil Corp, for acting as “malicious cyber-enabled actors,” according to a Dec. 5 press release. Evil Corp is a “cybercriminal” organization responsible for the development of Dridex malware, which infects computers to harvest login credentials from “hundreds” of banks in more than 40 countries, leading to more than $100 million in theft, Treasury said. Evil Corp’s actions have caused “millions of dollars of damage” to U.S. and international financial institutions, including their customers, the press release said.
The State Department sanctioned Alejandro Sinibaldi, Guatemala’s former minister of communications, infrastructure, and housing, for “significant corruption,” according to a Dec. 3 press release. The State Department is also sanctioning family members Maria Jose Saravia Mendoza, Alejandro Sinibaldi Saravia and his two minor children.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control identified and sanctioned six ships belonging to Petroleos de Venezuela, Venezuela's sanctioned state-owned energy company, Treasury said in a Dec. 3 press release. The agency also identified the vessel Esperanza as blocked property of Caroil Transport Marine Ltd., which was sanctioned by OFAC in September. Esperanza was previously listed on OFAC’s Specially Designated Nationals List as “Nedas,” Treasury said.