- Chief Compliance Officer and VP of Legal Affairs, Arrow Electronics
By 
Jeff Dale2023-08-10T19:01:00
The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced expanded sanctions against the Belarusian regime three years after the country’s disputed 2020 presidential election.
The sanctions target individuals and entities involved in the country’s ongoing “civil society repression, complicity in the Russian Federation’s unjustified war in Ukraine, and enrichment of repressive Belarusian regime leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka,” the Treasury said in a press release Wednesday.
OFAC sanctioned three state-owned enterprises, including Belarusian Steel Works, airline Belavia, and an aviation plant. Miami-based Bel-Kap-Steel, of which all voting capital is controlled by Belarus; a Canadair regional jet operated by Belavia; and Belarus’s supposed financial investigations watchdog were also designated.
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Freedom Holding Corp. was accused of “brazen sanctions evasion,” along with openly flouting anti-money laundering and know your customer regulations, as part of an investigative report published by short seller Hindenburg Research.
The United States once again ratcheted up sanctions against Russia in an attempt to further choke off the funds and military supplies the country is using in its war against Ukraine.
The Bureau of Industry and Security, Office of Foreign Assets Control, and Department of Justice issued guidance to highlight common methods bad actors use to evade sanctions and export controls on Russia and how to spot their use.
The EU and U.K. have rushed to commit themselves to intensifying action on sanctions evasion after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s victory, but any compliance managers who believe Trump will make global sanctions compliance easier in 2025 are likely to be disappointed.
With a new political regime ready to take over in the U.S., the effectiveness of sanctions against malign foreign actors like Russia, North Korea, and Iran have come into question. While the European Union and U.K. have increased sanctions pressure, critics have publicly asked: Is it enough?
The U.K. has issued 56 new sanctions against entities and individuals involved with Russia’s war effort, including several private mercenary groups operating in Africa that are connected to the Kremlin.
