The Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) and the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced sanctions against several persons and entities determined to be supporting Iran’s Mahan Air in violation of U.S. sanctions toward Iran. According to both agencies, the involved companies have provided key parts and logistics services

On August 7, 2020, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned 11 individuals for undermining Hong Kong’s autonomy and restricting the freedom of expression or assembly of the citizens of Hong Kong. These actions were taken pursuant to Executive Order 13936, “The President’s Executive Order on Hong Kong Normalization” (

The Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has sanctioned the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC), Sun Jinlong, a former Political Commissar of the XPCC, and Peng Jiarui, the Deputy Party Secretary and Commander of the XPCC, in connection with human rights abuses against ethnic minorities in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous

On July 29, 2020, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and the Department of State sanctioned four Syrian individuals and ten entities. The OFAC designations focus on a key supporter of Syrian President Basher al-Assad for “enriching the Syrian regime through construction of luxury real estate” and for actively

On July 14, 2020, President Donald Trump signed into law the “Hong Kong Autonomy Act” (H.R. 7440), which authorizes and imposes sanctions on foreign persons, entities and financial institutions contributing to China’s actions to remove autonomy from Hong Kong. Unanimously passed by both the House of Representatives and the Senate in early July, this new

The U.S. Department of State issued updated public guidance on Section 232 of the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (“CAATSA”), which authorizes the president to impose sanctions on persons engaged in certain investments or other activities with respect to Russian energy export pipelines.  Effective on July 15, 2020, the actions that are sanctionable under

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced that it has issued General License (“GL”) 5D (Authorizing Certain Transactions Related to the Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. 2020 8.5 Percent Bond on or After October 20, 2020), which continues to delay U.S. persons’ ability to enforce bondholder rights to the CITGO

On June 25, 2020, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced that its recent designations to the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Entities (SDN) List targeted Iran’s steel, aluminum, copper, and iron sectors. OFAC designated eight entities operating in the Iranian metals sector including companies from Iran, the United

On June 26, 2020, the State Department issued a Federal Register notice announcing that it has sanctioned certain Syrian individuals and entities it has determined “are responsible for or complicit in, have directly or indirectly engaged in, attempted to engage in, or financed, the obstruction, disruption, or prevention of a ceasefire in northern Syria”  or

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) announced that it has issued General License (“GL”) 37  (Authorizing the Wind Down of Transactions Involving Delos Voyager Shipping Ltd, Romina Maritime Co Inc, and Certain Vessels), which expires on July 21, 2020.   Additionally, OFAC issued frequently asked question (“FAQ”) 834 addressing the