July Sanctions News

Continuing our monthly Sanctions news series, we bring you significant developments in July. Our service empowers Compliance Officers and Chief Compliance Officers to keep up with Sanctions landscape changes at the designation level and, most importantly, to understand the intentions and objectives behind such measures. Keeping up with the latest developments can bring long-term benefits to an organization.

In July, there were noteworthy events globally that impacted sanctions compliance. We summarize all the relevant events and provide links to primary sources for more in-depth research, so you can stay ahead and mitigate risks to your business operations.

In July, we have seen the following events:

4 July 2023

The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) of the United Kingdom extended its Syria General License by six months through February 14, 2024. (source)

10 July 2023

The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the U.S. Treasury Department replaced General License 40A with 40B under its Venezuela sanctions program. The General License 40B authorizes all transactions related to the exportation or reexportation of liquefied petroleum gas to Venezuela involving the Government of Venezuela, Petróleos de Venezuela SA. (source)

12 July 2023

OFAC imposed asset-freezing sanctions on ten individuals and one entity under the United States Counter-Narcotics sanctions program. (source)

17 July 2023

The OFSI imposed asset-freezing sanctions on 13 individuals and one entity for their involvement in the forced deportation of Ukrainian children. (source)

18 July 2023

Australia imposed asset-freezing sanctions against several individuals and entities under its autonomous sanctions program against Russia. (source)

19 July 2023

OFAC replaced General License 5K under its Venezuela sanctions program with General License 5L. The new General License postponed the prohibition's effective date on dealings related to certain bonds issued by PDVSA to October 20, 2023. (source)

20 July 2023

On this day, the EU Council published the following developments:

• The Council imposed a seventh round of restrictive measures in view of the situation in Myanmar/Burma against six individuals and one entity in response to the continuing escalation of violence, grave human rights violations, and threats to peace, security, and stability. (source)

• Also, the Council imposed restrictive measures against twelve other individuals and five entities responsible for serious human rights violations in Russia under the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime. The measures target those who have politically motivated rulings against the opposition politicians, democracy activists, and outspoken Kremlin critics Alexei Navalny and Vladimir Kara-Murza. (source)

28 July 2023

The EU Council amended its sanctions regime in view of the situation in Haiti, allowing the EU to autonomously impose restrictive measures on individuals and entities responsible for threatening the peace, security, or stability of Haiti or for undermining democracy or the rule of law in Haiti. (source)

Stay informed and ahead of the curve in the dynamic world of sanctions

As a Compliance Officer or Chief Compliance Officer, understanding the latest sanction developments is vital to mitigating the risk of non-compliance in your organization.

Take advantage of our monthly update articles, summarizing the most noteworthy events in sanctions with links to primary sources for further research.

Contact us at info@pst.ag for more information.