#US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)

[xtruss]

“War Criminal, Hypocrite, Hegemonic, Two-Faced, Liar, Conspirator and Fake Democracy Preacher United States” Reopens Ports to Russian Oil Despite Sanctions

The United States has imported Russian oil for the first time since April 2022. The imports, totaling 36,800 barrels in October and 9,900 barrels in November, were conducted for $2.7 million and $749,500, respectively.

The US imposed a ban on the import of oil, gas, and other energy resources from Russia in March 2022 as part of sanctions related to Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine. Нowever, specific licenses from the US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) have now made such imports possible.

According to the data, the US purchased Russian oil for consumption in both October and November. At the same time, one barrel of Russian oil cost the US $74 in October and $76 the following month. This is significantly higher than the "price cap" set by the country at $60 per barrel.

In 2022, the US, along with other G7 countries, the EU, Switzerland, and Australia, implemented price ceilings on Russian oil to reduce Moscow's income. Companies from these nations were prohibited from providing transportation, insurance, and financial services for Russian oil sold above the set limit of $60 per barrel. The price ceilings for petroleum products vary by type, with diesel capped at $100 per barrel and discounted fuel oil at $45 per barrel.

— Thursday January 11, 2024 | Sputnik International

[timesofocean]

Microsoft to pay $3.3M to resolve violations of US export controls, sanctions

New Post has been published on https://www.timesoftehran.com/microsoft-to-pay-3-3m-to-resolve-violations-of-us-sanctions/

Microsoft to pay $3.3M to resolve violations of US export controls, sanctions

New York (The Times Groupe)- U.S.-based multinational technology corporation Microsoft is imposed a total of $3.3 million in civil penalties for its alleged and apparent violations of US export controls and sanctions laws, Treasury and Commerce departments said Thursday in a joint statement. ofac bis

According to the statement, Microsoft self-disclosed the alleged violations to the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) and the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).

It added that the tech firm cooperated with the joint investigation conducted by BIS and OFAC, and took remedial measures after discovering the conduct at issue, which predated the export controls and sanctions imposed in connection with Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine.

While BIS imposed an administrative penalty of more than $600,000 on Microsoft involving its subsidiary Microsoft Rus LLC, or Microsoft Russia, the company also settled with OFAC and agreed to an almost $3 million civil penalty to resolve 1,339 violations of sanctions regulations involving Ukraine/Russia, Cuba, Iran, and Syria.

Microsoft was given a $276,000 credit by BIS, contingent upon Microsoft fulfilling its requirements under the OFAC settlement agreement, according to the statement.

“U.S. companies will be held accountable for the activities of their foreign subsidiaries,” said Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement Matthew S. Axelrod. “As this coordinated resolution demonstrates, BIS and OFAC will work together to ensure that U.S. export control and sanctions laws are enforced effectively, wherever in the world the underlying conduct occurs.”

Employees of Microsoft Russia caused another Microsoft subsidiary to enter into or sell software licensing agreements that would allow the transfer or access to software on seven occasions between December 2016, and December 2017, said the Treasury.

OFAC Director Andrea Gacki said Microsoft’s case underscores the risks technology companies may face when engaging through foreign subsidiaries, distributors, and resellers.

[notaplaceofhonour]

SAMIDOUN DOWN 🥳

Samidoun, a front that exists to funnel money to the PFLP, has been officially designated a “sham charity” fundraiser for the PFLP (which is already a designated terrorist organization) in the US and a “terrorist entity” in Canada.

[fuckyeahmarxismleninism]

NLG Condemns the US Government Attack on Samidoun and the Palestinian Solidarity Movement, Calls for an End to Resurgent McCarthyism

The National Lawyers Guild strongly condemns the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designation of Samidoun as “a sham charity that serves as an international fundraiser for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terrorist organization,” and the listing of long-time Palestinian- Canadian activist Khaled Barakat “as associated with terrorism.” 

Done in coordination with the government of Canada, this designation will have a broad chilling effect on Palestine solidarity work in North America.  Above all, it is designed to disrupt the unprecedented global tidal wave of support for the liberation of Palestine.  The crackdown on our constitutionally protected speech is a worrisome development at any moment in time but in particular right now as social movements confront the US-backed Israeli genocide in Gaza, the Israeli war on Lebanon, and the general global trend toward fascism.

[mariacallous]

[aqlstar]

Win

Samidoun cannot operate financially within the US, Canada, or Germany 👍

[theculturedmarxist]

In 2013 the CIA was handing out TOW anti-tank missiles to 'moderate rebel' groups who were fighting the government in Syria. These groups were allegedly 'vetted' before they receive money and weapons. Unfortunately 'vetting' was something the CIA had never been good at.

One of the groups that received such support was the Hamza Division:

Hamza Division (Forqat al-Hamza – فرقة الحمزة): An FSA-banner group composed of six substituent brigades that operate mostly in the environs of Inkhil, Daraa. The Hamza Division has received TOW ATGMs and it works under the supervision of the Daraa Military Council. They receives foreign support from Western and Arab state backers and are a member of the Southern Front coalition. The Southern Front has stated their commitment to a civil state, and have released a comprehensive political program in support of democratic reform. The Division came together with the Syria Revolutionaries Front and the 1st Artillery Regiment to create the 1st Army, which later disbanded. The Hamza Division continues using the 1st Army imagery alongside its own while the other former substituents do not. Social Media: YouTube; YouTube (older channel)

Hamza was later also supported by the Pentagon. Without such support the group would never have become a viable entity. Things got a bit complicated when militias armed by the Pentagon started to fight those armed by the CIA.

Later Hamza was sponsored by the Turkish state. This again made things a bit complicated:

Elijah J. Magnier @ejmalrai - 17:39 · Oct 16, 2019 Do you remember when the #US spent $500 million to train/arm Al-Hamza Division? Well the US-trained "Moderate rebels" are fighting - under a NATO flagged country (#Turkey) - the US-trained Kurdish YPG in the area occupied by the #US. I'll make it even easier: A few minutes ago, #US Prsdt @realDonaldTrump said the "PKK is far more dangerous than #ISIS (The Islamic State)". The US trained & armed Syrian Kurds proxies, the YPG, are the Syrian branch of the PKK that Trump considers far more dangerous than ISIS.

Ten years after being 'vetted' the Hamza division is again receiving U.S. attention. This time from the Department of the Treasuries:

Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is designating two Syria-based armed militias and three members of the groups’ leadership structures in connection with serious human rights abuses against those residing in the Afrin region of northern Syria. An auto sales company owned by the leader of one of the armed groups is also being designated. ... The Hamza Division, another armed opposition group operating in northern Syria, has been involved in abductions, theft of property, and torture. The division also operates detention facilities in which it houses those it has abducted for extended periods of time. During their imprisonment, victims are held for ransom, often suffering sexual abuse at the hands of Hamza Division fighters. The Suleiman Shah Brigade and the Hamza Division are being designated pursuant to E.O. 13894 for being responsible for or complicit in, or for having directly or indirectly engaged in, the commission of serious human rights abuses against the Syrian people. ... Sayf Boulad Abu Bakr is the leader of the Hamza Division and its public face, appearing in numerous propaganda videos produced by the Hamza Division. While Abu Bakr has been commander, the Hamza Division has been accused of brutal repression of the local population, including kidnapping Kurdish women and severely abusing prisoners, at times leading to their death. Sayf Boulad Abu Bakr is being designated pursuant to E.O. 13894 for acting or purporting to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, the Hamza Division.

The AP report about the new sanctions does not mention any Pentagon or CIA support the groups had previously received.

One wonders how long it will take until the U.S. will sanction the fascists militia it has and is now arming and sponsoring in Ukraine.

[thepursuitroom]

Tibetan Community in Vienna Protests Against Human Rights Abuses by China

Vienna: On Saturday, the Tibetan community demonstrated in front of the Chinese embassy in Austria’s capital Vienna, raising their voices against alleged human rights violations by the Chinese Communist Party. On Human Rights Day, the Tibetans raised slogans against alleged excesses of the CCP on Tibetans, Uyghurs, and Chinese citizens in China.

The demonstration at Metternichgasse 4 in Vienna was led by Tibetan community president Nawang Lobsang Taglung. This protest comes a day after the US announced sanctions on two Chinese officials for ‘serious human rights abuse’ in the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), according to the US Department of Treasury.

The Chinese officials — Wu Yingjie (Wu) and Zhang Hongbo (Zhang) — have been named as those involved in alleged rights violations by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), which is a financial intelligence and enforcement agency of the US Treasury Department.

[chloeworships]

Yesssss Anna!!! Preachhhhhhhhhhh!!!!

Idk who Anna is but she’s now my new friend 🤣🤣🤣

We can still fight terrorism and support Israel 🇮🇱 without losing sight of peace with reasonable Palestinians.

This made my day.

Also I heard Canada 🇨🇦 and the US 🇺🇸 banned a terrorist organization supporter Samidoun — and I am thrilled. This is confirmation of what God has been saying to US from the start of this ungodly war. This is so incredibly important at this time. Bravo 👏🏾

I don’t want to discredit the work of charities because they have a VITAL role in communities but to fundraise a “dire picture” has to be painted to raise funds and some charitable orgs milk (take advantage) of the opportunities conflict and wars provide. Sadly it’s always a few bad apples 🍎 that make it difficult for everyone else. This is a major blow to Hamas and a win for Israel 🇮🇱

Death x Money = 💲Profits…. The Merchants of Death 💀 Is the math, mathing?

I wish this were cynicism talking but naw babes, it’s a deafening reality.

[liberty1776]

As tourists complete their strolls to the White House from the east along Pennsylvania Avenue, they pass a relatively unremarkable, columned office building that overlooks Lafayette Square — oblivious that, behind its walls, bureaucrats are quietly inflicting poverty, illness and death on innumerable innocents around the world. The Freedman’s Bank Building doesn’t house CIA or Department of Defense officials, but rather the US Treasury’s little-known Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). Instead of orchestrating airstrikes or insurgencies, these bureaucrats impose mass suffering via economic warfare, collectively serving as the tip of the spear that is America’s ever-expanding economic sanctions regime. … Continue reading →

[demerarawaves]

Mohameds gold dealer's licence to be pulled in wake of US sanctions

The Guyana Gold Board (GGB) is finalising preparations to revoke the Mohameds gold dealership license, following the United States’ imposition of sanctions on Nazar “Shell” Mohamed and his son Azruddin, according to well-placed sources. The effect of the sanctions by the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) for allegedly defrauding Guyana of US$50 million on 10…

[dailyweb]

Hungarian Government Confirms Decision to Pull Out of Sanctions-hit IIB

The Hungarian government has confirmed media reports that it will withdraw from the International Investment Bank (IIB) after US sanctions were imposed on the Budapest-based, Russia-controlled development bank on April 12.

The decision to withdraw by the bank's second-largest shareholder implies that Hungary will refuse to take part in any attempt to rescue the IIB, which had been rumoured to be in crisis even before the imposition of sanctions. Western financial institutions such as the Belgium-based Euroclear network, which settles securities transactions, have reportedly refused to deal with it. The IIB's bonds have been downgraded to junk status by ratings agencies.

The withdrawal of Hungary ends Moscow's dream of building a European-focussed international financial institution such as the EBRD or EIB, leaving it as the last significant shareholder.

The decision also marks a humiliating defeat for Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's project to attract the IIB to Budapest in 2019 and thereby forge closer financial ties with Moscow and strengthen Hungary's role as an international financial centre. Hacked documents sent to the investigative CEE media network VSquare showed how Budapest had desperately tried to lobby inside the EU for the bank not to be frozen out of European financial networks, and had schemed to hide the bank's Russian dominance by keeping Moscow's stake under 50%.

Hungarian Economic Development Minister Marton Nagy said the government had come to the conclusion that participation in the bank no longer made sense, as US sanctions have rendered the bank's operations meaningless. The government hence decided to withdraw its representative from the board, although IIB has played an important financing role in Central and Eastern Europe, Nagy told state news agency MTI on Thursday afternoon, a few hours after the news first leaked by pro-government business website Vilaggazdasag. Hungary is the last EU member state to leave IIB. The Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Slovakia and Romania announced their decision to quit both the IIB and the International Bank for Economic Cooperation (IBEC) following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Poland already quit the IIB in 2000. The IIB has refused to repay the equity capital invested by the exiting countries.

As of Thursday afternoon, the Hungarian government had not officially reacted to the announcement made by US Ambassador to Hungary, David Pressman to sanction IIB, along with three executives resident in Hungary, Nikolay Kosov chairman, Georgy Potapov deputy chairman and Imre Laszloczki, deputy chairman in charge of strategy and policy. The 62-year-old banker, a former ambassador to Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, is the only Hungarian national on the list.

The US diplomat, some nine months in office, told the international press at the Budapest embassy that Washington had repeatedly raised concerns concerns about how Russia could use the bank to expand its influence in the region, but that these had been ignored.

“Unlike other Nato allies previously engaged with this Russian entity,” Pressman said, “Hungary has dismissed the concerns of the United States government regarding the risks [the IIB's] continued presence poses to the alliance.”

According to the statement released by the US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the IIB's presence in Budapest enables Russia to increase its intelligence presence in Europe, opens the door for the Kremlin’s malign influence activities in Central Europe and the Western Balkans, and could serve as a mechanism for corruption and illicit finance, including sanctions violations. The US has accused the bank of co-ordinating its policy with the Kremlin.

At the end of the press conference, Pressman struck a conciliatory tone, leaving the door open for talks with the government. "The United States is committed to a close and constructive relationship with Hungary, our valued Nato ally", he added.

While Orban has reluctantly approved sanctions against Russia and acknowledged Ukraine's right to territory integrity, he drew criticism from its allies for his pro-Kremlin narratives during the war and for strengthening economic ties with Moscow in the face of bloody conflict.

Budapest has done little to reduce its dependence on Russian energy imports, and just this week Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto signed new energy contracts earlier in Moscow that will cement Russian influence for decades to come.

Hungary's isolation among its regional allies, the Visegrad Four, has also deepened since the outbreak of the war and regional cooperation is now all but dead.

At the time the US ambassador was providing details of sanctions against Russian interests in Hungary, the country's foreign minister hosted his Belorussian counterpart in Budapest "to keep the channels of communication" open for peace. A day earlier in Warsaw, US Vice President Kamala Harris and Polish PM Mateusz Morawiecki discussed the “importance of a shared commitment to democratic values” and the two country's strategic partnership.

Hungary, together with Turkey, is also still blocking Sweden's application to join Nato, to the frustration of its allies

“We have concerns,” Pressman said, “about the continued eagerness of Hungarian leaders to expand and deepen ties with the Russian Federation.”

The IIB was originally established in 1970 as the Comecon bank serving the then Soviet bloc’s economic area and third-world countries and was revitalised in the early 2010s under Putin.

Hungary renewed its membership in IIB in October 2014 after a decade-long absence, and four years later IIB member states unanimously voted for the proposal to relocate the bank's HQ to Budapest from Moscow.

According to the blog of a leading Hungarian geopolitical analyst, this was proposed by Orban's former chief foreign adviser, Janos Balla, a former career diplomat, born in Moscow.

The government argued that moving IIB's seat to Budapest will strengthen Hungary's role as an international financial centre and it fitted into the government's Opening to the East policy, which aimed to bolster economic ties with Russia, China and other emerging markets outside the EU.

The United States expressed reservations over the relocation from the onset. Washington successfully blocked the lender to have its HQ established alongside the US Embassy in Hungary at the landmark Freedom Square, close to the Parliament building. It also successfully pressured Hungary to reduce the number of officials at the bank with diplomatic immunity.

In an interview on Wednesday, the Hungarian government’s delegate to the board, Imre Boros raised eyebrows when commenting on the latest sanctions on IIB, saying "the US was trying to strike at Russia while attacking one of Russia's allies, Hungary". This was the first time that a leading public figure close to the government called Russia Hungary’s ally.

The 75-year-old former minister in the first Orban cabinet also said that Hungary is the number one shareholder in the bank, a claim that is not backed up by official data from IIB.

The latest data shows that Russia is currently the largest owner in the bank, holding 45.44% of the shares, followed by Hungary with 25.27%, while Cuba holds 2.83%, Mongolia 1.8% and Vietnam 1.26%.

[cyberbenb]

US announces new sanctions against 2 mining companies in Central African Republic over links to Wagner

The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced new sanctions on May 30 against two mining companies based in the Central African Republic over links to the Wagner Gro Source : kyivindependent.com/us-announ…

[mariacallous]

Washington takes the gloves off in fight with Russia Today

The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed sanctions on 10 individuals (including Russia Today editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan) and two legal entities allegedly involved in the Russian government’s malign influence efforts and illicit cyber activities targeting the 2024 U.S. presidential election. The Russian state-sponsored actors are accused of using A.I. deep fakes and disinformation to “undermine confidence in the United States’ election processes and institutions.” The tactics include “proxy websites, fake online personas, and front organizations” designed to “give the false appearance of being independent news sources unconnected to the Russian state.” 

The U.S. Justice Department also charged two RT employees — Russian nationals Kostiantyn Kalashnikov and Elena Afanasyeva — with conspiracy to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) and conspiracy to launder roughly $9.7 million. Operating from Moscow, Kalashnikov and Afanasyeva allegedly used fake personas and shell companies to “orchestrate a massive scheme to influence the American public by secretly planting and financing” a Tennessee-based online content creation company. The content in question allegedly “amplified domestic divisions” in the U.S. while “mostly” supporting the Kremlin’s “publicly stated goals.” 

[drewssam]

Sanction-Fueled Illegal Crypto Transactions hit Record highs in 2022

In 2022, illicit cryptocurrency activities surged to a record high of $20.1 billion, a notable increase from the previous year's $18 billion, largely attributed to intensified U.S. sanctions targeting digital currencies. Chainalysis researchers categorized illegal crypto activities encompassing a spectrum from child sexual abuse materials to terrorist funding, frauds, and cybercriminal administrators.

A significant portion, approximately 44%, of these illicit transactions were associated with sanctioned entities, reflecting heightened U.S. government sanctions against cryptocurrency-related individuals and businesses. The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) notably targeted ten crypto organizations last year, including Tornado Cash, following revelations of its use by the North Korean hacker group Lazarus to launder over $500 million in stolen cryptocurrency.

The decision to sanction Tornado Cash, as the first decentralized system to face such measures, drew criticism from blockchain industry leaders and privacy advocates who deemed it an overreach by the Treasury Department.

Job losses compounded the sector's challenges, exemplified by Coinbase's announcement of a 20% staff reduction, marking its third wave of layoffs within eight months. Kim Grauer, Chainalysis's chief of research, highlighted the need for improved transparency, suggesting the integration of off-chain data on liabilities with on-chain data to enhance visibility within the crypto space.