Source: https://fullcirclecompliance.eu/the-daily-bugle-weekly-highlights-week-11-mar-2019/
Timestamp: 2019-04-19 12:27:45+00:00

Document:
* Charges: On 1 December 2016, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, Shavkat Abdullaev (“Abdullaev”) was convicted of violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. § 1701, et seq. (2012)) (“IEEPA”). Specifically, Abdullaev was convicted of knowingly and intentionally exporting from the United States to Russia microelectronics without the required U.S. Department of Commerce licenses. Abdullaev was sentenced to 36 months in prison, two years of supervised release, and a $400 assessment.
* Date of Order: 8 Mar 2019.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) today extended the expiration date of a general license related to PDV Holding, Inc. (PDVH), and CITGO Holding, Inc. General License 7Aprovides an 18-month authorization that renews automatically on a monthly basis, which will enable CITGO to maintain operations in markets that are based on long-term planning and contractual commitments.
* AGENCY: Office of Foreign Assets Control, Treasury.
* ACTION: Final rule; technical amendments.
* SUMMARY: The Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is amending the Iranian Financial Sanctions Regulations (IFSR) and the Hizballah Financial Sanctions Regulations (HFSR) to incorporate references to the new List of Foreign Financial Institutions Subject to Correspondent Account or Payable Through Account Sanctions (CAPTA List).
* DATES: Effective: March 15, 2019.
* FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: OFAC: Assistant Director for Licensing, tel.: 202–622–2480; Assistant Director for Regulatory Affairs, tel.: 202–622– 4855; Assistant Director for Sanctions Compliance & Evaluation, tel.: 202–622– 2490; or the Department of the Treasury’s Office of the Chief Counsel (Foreign Assets Control), Office of the General Counsel, tel.: 202–622–2410.
This document and additional information concerning OFAC are available from OFAC’s website.
Pursuant to a number of sanctions authorities, the Secretary of the Treasury may impose strict conditions or prohibitions on the opening or maintaining of correspondent or payable-through accounts in the United States (collectively, ‘‘correspondent or payable-through account sanctions’’) for a foreign financial institution (FFI) that the Secretary determines knowingly engages in specified transactions. As a general matter, the Secretary of the Treasury further delegates these authorities to the Director of OFAC.
With respect to the first two such authorities established, OFAC created separate sanctions lists to identify FFIs subject to correspondent or payable through account sanctions. Specifically, §§ 561.201 and 561.203 of the IFSR (31 CFR part 561) provide that, upon a finding by the Secretary of the Treasury that an FFI knowingly engages in one or more of the activities described in § 561.201(a) or § 561.203(a), the Secretary of the Treasury will impose correspondent or payable-through account sanctions on the FFI. Notes to §§ 561.201(b) and 561.203(a) further clarify that the name of the FFI and the relevant prohibition or strict condition(s) will be added to the List of Foreign Financial Institutions Subject to Part 561 Liston the Iran sanctions page on OFAC’s website (www.treasury.gov/ofac) and published in the Federal Register. As of March 14, 2019, there was one FFI on the Part 561 List.
Similarly, § 566.201 of the HFSR provides that, upon a finding by the Secretary of the Treasury that an FFI knowingly engages in one or more of the activities described in § 566.201(a), the Secretary of the Treasury will impose correspondent or payable-through account sanctions on the FFI. A note to § 566.201(c) further explains that the name of the FFI and the relevant prohibition or strict condition(s) will be added to the HFSR List on the Counter Terrorism Sanctions web page on OFAC’s website (www.treasury.gov/ofac) and published in the Federal Register. As of March 14, 2019, there was no HFSR List on the OFAC website because no FFI has been listed pursuant to the HFSR.
Additional sanctions authorities provide for correspondent or payable through account sanctions, including the Ukraine Freedom Support Act of 2014, as amended (UFSA), and Executive Order 13810 of September 20, 2017 (‘‘Imposing Additional Sanctions With Respect to North Korea’’) (82 FR 44705, September 25, 2017), as implemented in the North Korea Sanctions Regulations, 31 CFR part 510 (NKSR). In order to avoid potential confusion resulting from multiple OFAC lists addressing similar sanctions, on March 1, 2018, OFAC announced on its website the creation of a consolidated list, the List of Foreign Financial Institutions Subject to Correspondent Account or Payable-Through Account Sanctions (CAPTA List), which would list any FFI subject to correspondent or payable-through account sanctions pursuant to UFSA or the NKSR, as well as the relevant prohibition or strict condition(s). Also on March 1, 2018, OFAC stated that the CAPTA List eventually would be expanded to include FFIs subject to correspondent or payable-through account sanctions pursuant to additional authorities, including the IFSR and the HFSR. As of March 14, 2019, the CAPTA List did not include any FFIs subject to correspondent or payable-through account sanctions under UFSA or the NKSR because OFAC has not identified any such FFIs.
This rule amends the IFSR and the HFSR to replace 14 references to the Part 561 List and seven references to the HFSR List, respectively, with references to the CAPTA List. OFAC also is making a conforming change in the IFSR and the HFSR to the location on OFAC’s website for the CAPTA List.
On March 15, 2019, by separate action, OFAC is expanding the CAPTA List on the OFAC website to include FFIs subject to correspondent or payable-through account sanctions pursuant to the IFSR and the HFSR. As part of this change, OFAC will move the name of the FFI on the Part 561 List, along with the relevant prohibition or strict condition(s) to which the FFI is subject, to the CAPTA List. The CAPTA List will thus supersede the Part 561 List in its entirety, and the Part 561 List will be removed from OFAC’s website. Following the publication of this rule, unless otherwise specified, the names of any FFIs that are determined by the Secretary of the Treasury to be subject to correspondent or payable-through account sanctions will be placed on the CAPTA List. The CAPTA List will be accessible via OFAC’s website and updates to the list will be published on OFAC’s website and in the Federal Register.
Andrea Gacki, Director, Office of Foreign Assets Control.
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References: § 1701
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