The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week issued a correction to a sanction designation published in the Federal Register in April 2021. The correction fixed the basis for the designation of Artem Nikolaevich Stepanov, who was sanctioned for having ties to Russian company Yunidzhet, a procurement agent for Yevgeniy Prigozhin, the former leader of the Russian private military company Wagner Group.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned Gilbert Hernan de Los Angeles Bell Fernandez, a Costa Rican narcotics trafficker who has played a “significant role” in Costa Rica’s transformation into a major narcotics transit hub. Bell, also known as Macho Coca, is one of the city of Limón’s most “prolific” and violent traffickers, OFAC said, adding that he moves “large quantities of cocaine” and Costa Rican authorities arrested him in 2015.

The U.S. and the U.K. this week released a new round of sanctions against people and entities helping to finance the terror group Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The designations target various PIJ and Hamas officials, a Lebanon-based money exchange company and others.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week issued a new guidance to make non-governmental organizations and others aware of the licenses and authorizations available for humanitarian-related transactions involving the Palestinian people. OFAC stressed that its “sanctions do not stand in the way of legitimate humanitarian assistance” to the region, and the guidance outlines what types of transactions and services are allowed.

Canada last week announced another set of Russia-related sanctions, targeting nine people and six entities involved in the “Kremlin-backed orchestration of disinformation and war propaganda.” Canada said some of the designated entities are either directly funded by the federal government or receive state grants distributed by Kremlin agents to “spread false narratives and propaganda as if it were expert opinion in an attempt to legitimize” Russia’s war against Ukraine.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week released updated Russia-related General License 76A, which replaces General License 76, to clarify that the license applies to Public Joint Stock Company Saint Petersburg Exchange. OFAC said the license previously listed the entity’s name as “Saint Petersburg Stock Exchange.” The license “otherwise remains unchanged,” OFAC said.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned 13 Sinaloa Cartel members and four Mexican companies for their ties to fentanyl trafficking. The designations, coordinated with the Mexican government, target several high-ranking cartel officials, including Sinaloa's Sonora-based “plaza boss” Juan Carlos Morgan Huerta and his adult family members.

The Treasury Department and DOJ this week convened a meeting of Russian Elites, Proxies and Oligarchs (REPO) Task Force deputies to “coordinate lines of effort” involving seized Russian assets, Treasury said Nov. 7. The meeting, held the previous day, brought together “experts across the U.S. government and international community” to explore ways the REPO task force -- including officials from Australia, Canada, the EU, France, Germany, Japan, Italy and the U.K. -- can use seized Russian assets to compensate Ukraine for damages incurred during its war with Russia. Treasury said REPO members committed that Russian assets in REPO jurisdictions “will remain immobilized until Russia pays for the damage it has caused to Ukraine.” The deputies plan to meet again later this year.

Multinational banks are more often choosing not to authorize payments involving sanctioned jurisdictions or people, even if those payments are authorized by a general license or not subject to restrictions, said Richard Newcomb, a DLA Piper lawyer and former director for the Office of Foreign Assets Control. “Even if authorized, banks increasingly will not process a transaction involving or touching a sanctioned country or do business with anyone that has unlawfully done business with a sanctioned person or country,” Newcomb said.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control last week sanctioned Ekaterina Zhdanova, a Russian national who the agency said has laundered money and moved funds on behalf of wealthy Russians using virtual currency.