{"id":676,"date":"2018-09-05T21:09:17","date_gmt":"2018-09-05T21:09:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ielrblog.com\/?post_type=article&p=676"},"modified":"2018-09-05T21:09:17","modified_gmt":"2018-09-05T21:09:17","slug":"ofac-provides-new-designations-for-violations-of-russian-sanctions","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/ielrblog.com\/index.php\/article\/ofac-provides-new-designations-for-violations-of-russian-sanctions\/","title":{"rendered":"OFAC Provides New Designations for Violations of Russian Sanctions \u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

During August 2018, the United States strengthened sanctions against Russia for multiple violations of U.S. and international law. The U.S. continued to apply pressure on August 21st<\/sup> when the U.S. Department of Treasury\u2019s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated entities and individuals for circumventing both North Korean-related sanctions and cyber-related sanctions.[1]<\/a><\/p>\n

The United States has been active in punishing violators of North Korean-related sanctions. \u00a0On August 15th, OFAC announced designations against Russian and Chinese shipping companies for circumventing North Korean-related sanctions. [2]<\/a> \u00a0The August 21 designations target two Vladistok-based shipping companies, Primorye Martime Logistics and Gudzon Shipping Co., which were engaged in ship-to-ship transfers of refined petroleum products with North Korean flagged vessels, a violation of US sanctions against North Korea.<\/p>\n

The designations for circumventing North Korea-related sanctions coincide with designations for violations of cybercrime-related sanctions.[3]<\/a> \u00a0St. Petersburg-based Vela-Marine Ltd. and Lacno S.R.O. were responsible for providing equipment to Russian Intelligence Agency, F.S.B., which has been sanctioned for its interference in the 2016 U.S.\u00a0 presidential election.<\/p>\n

The continued pressure from the United States has created both opportunities and complications. On the one \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 hand, the sanctions are being felt in Russia as access to credit tightens for Russian oligarchs and restricts the ability to freely conduct business. For example, Credit Suisse froze 5 billion Swiss francs linked to Russia.[4]<\/a> \u00a0On the other hand, Russian groups are now targeting institutions and individuals that have called for increased pressure on Russia. \u00a0According to a report released by Microsoft, Russian groups\u2014including a group of hackers formerly known as the G.R.U. have targeted conservative think-tanks and organizations in retaliation for supporting continued sanctions.[5]<\/a><\/p>\n

Sanctions strain the US-Russian relationship and have placed policymakers in Washington at odds with each other.\u00a0 The Trump Administration seeks to lower tensions with Moscow and to try and use the sanctions as a bargaining chip to seek Russian concessions on Syria and Ukraine.[6]<\/a> \u00a0Congress, however, introduced a bipartisan bill that seeks to widen the scope of sanctions and make them more punitive.[7]<\/a><\/p>\n

With respect to North Korean sanctions, on August 4, the North Korea government said the US was acting with \u201calarming\u201d impatience on the issue of denuclearization, after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stressed the need to maintain full sanctions pressure on Pyongyang.[8]<\/a>\u00a0 Since the meeting with President Trump on June 12 in Singapore, Kim Jung-On has started a diplomatic offense, reaching out to China and South Korea to show his good faith in trying to deal with the U.S.\u00a0 Clearly, North Korea is seeking Chinese and Russian support in the U.N. Security Council and elsewhere with respect to obtain relief on sanctions.<\/p>\n

<\/a>* The George Washington University Law School, J.D., 2018.<\/em><\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> Treasury Targets Russian Shipping Companies for Violations of North Korea-related United Nations Security Council Resolutions<\/em>, Aug. 21, 2018, https:\/\/home.treasury.gov\/news\/press-releases\/sm463<\/a>; Treasury Targets Attempted Circumvention of Sanctions<\/em>, August 21, 2018, https:\/\/home.treasury.gov\/news\/press-releases\/sm462<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> Bruce Zagaris, U.S. Treasury Designates 4 Persons for Violating U.N. Shipping Sanctions against N. Korea<\/em>, 34 Int\u2019l Enforcement L. Rep. 445 (2018).<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> See U.S. imposes fresh sanctions for Russian cyber-related activity<\/em>, Reuters (Aug. 21, 2018), https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/us-usa-russia-sanctions-treasury\/us-imposes-fresh-sanctions-for-russian-cyber-related-activity-idUSKCN1L61FB<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> See <\/em>Breanna Hughes Neghaiwi and John O\u2019Donnell, Credit Suisse freezes $5 billion of Russian money due to U.S. sanctions, Reuters (Aug. 22, 2018), https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/us-credit-suisse-gp-sanctions\/credit-suisse-freezes-5-billion-of-russian-money-due-to-us-sanctions-idUSKCN1L71LR<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> See <\/em>David E. Sanger and Sheera Frenkel, \u201cNew Russian Hacking Targeted Republican Groups, Microsoft Says<\/em>, N.Y. Times (Aug. 21, 2018), https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2018\/08\/21\/us\/politics\/russia-cyber-hack.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=first-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news.<\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> John Hudson, Trump administration seeks to ease tensions with Moscow as new sanctions loom<\/em>, Wash. Post (Aug. 29, 2018), https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/world\/national-security\/trump-administration-seeks-to-ease-tensions-with-moscow-as-new-sanctions-loom\/2018\/08\/29\/d6e902f9-f932-4fe2-b084-d7288aaf8258_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.ff26bee1b4aa)<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[7]<\/a> Nicholas Fandos and Catie Edmondson, Facing New Russian Hacking, Senators Signal They Are Ready to Act<\/em>, N.Y. Times (Aug. 21, 2018), https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2018\/08\/21\/us\/politics\/russia-sanctions-microsoft-hacking.html.<\/a><\/p>\n

[8]<\/a> Sam Reeves and Martin Abbugao, North Korea criticizes \u2018alarming\u2019 US impatience on denuclearization<\/em>, Times of Israel (Aug. 4, 2018).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

During August 2018, the United States strengthened sanctions against Russia for multiple violations of U.S. and international law. The U.S. continued to apply pressure on August 21st when the U.S. Department of Treasury\u2019s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated entities and individuals for circumventing both North Korean-related sanctions and cyber-related sanctions.[1] The United States […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"issuem_issue":[54],"class_list":{"0":"post-676","1":"article","2":"type-article","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"issuem_issue-volume-34-issue-9","7":"entry"},"yoast_head":"\nOFAC Provides New Designations for Violations of Russian Sanctions \u00a0 | IELR Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ielrblog.com\/index.php\/article\/ofac-provides-new-designations-for-violations-of-russian-sanctions\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"OFAC Provides New Designations for Violations of Russian Sanctions \u00a0 | IELR Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"During August 2018, the United States strengthened sanctions against Russia for multiple violations of U.S. and international law. 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