June - 2019

Canada imposes new sanctions against Nicaragua

The Government of Canada has enacted new sanctions related to Nicaragua under the Special Economic Measures Act (SEMA). These regulations impose an asset freeze and financial prohibitions on listed entities as a response to “repression and state-sponsored violence” by the Government of Nicaragua. The regulations came into effect on 21 June 2019. The data from the new regulations are included in the Canadian list CAECS and are available to PST.AG customers.

BIS amends the Unverified List

The U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) is revising the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) by removing eight entities from the Unverified List (UVL) and correcting the name of one existing entity on the UVL. This revision is effective 27 June 2019 and can be found in the Federal Register.

Walmart settles with the SEC

On 20 June 2019 the U.S. Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged Walmart Inc. for violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) between 2000 and 2011. Walmart has agreed to pay over $282 million to settle with the SEC and the U.S. Department of Justice. For further information please read the SEC’s press release and order.

EU lifts restrictions on the Maldives

The Council of the European Union has adopted Regulation (EU) 2019/985 (17 June 2019) which repeals “Regulation (EU) 2018/1001 concerning restrictive measures in view of the situation in the Republic of Maldives”. This action lifts financial sanctions and travel restriction on persons/entities responsible for human rights violations or abuses in the Maldives. Regulation (EU) 2019/985 came into force on 19 June 2019.

India adjusts duties for 28 US products

On 15 June 2019 the Department of Revenue of the Ministry of Finance of India issued Customs Notification No. 17/2019 which seeks “to further amend notification No. 50/2017-Customs dated 30.06.2017 to implement the imposition of retaliatory duties on 28 specified goods originating in or exported from USA and preserving the existing MFN rate for all these goods for all countries other than USA”. It specifies rates of duty for goods such as those classified under tariff numbers

SEC updates PAUSE list

On 10 June 2019 the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) updated its “Public Alert: Unregistered Soliciting Entities (PAUSE)” list. The PAUSE list names “unregistered entities that use misleading information to solicit primarily non-U.S. investors”. The SEC added 24 entities to the list: 11 unregistered soliciting entities, four impersonating entities of genuine firms and nine phony regulating entities. See the SEC press release for further information and the SEC PA

OFAC issues new sanctions against Iran and new Venezuela-related general licenses

On 7 June 2019 the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated the Persian Gulf Petrochemical Industries Company (PGPIC), Iran’s “largest and most profitable petrochemical holding group”. PGPIC and 39 of its subsidiaries were designated for providing financial support to Khatam al-Anbiya Construction Headquarters (Khatam al-Anbiya), the economic arm of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). See OFAC’s recent actions for the full

23 entities added to the Statutory Debarment List

The U.S. Department of State has added 23 entities to the Statutory Debarment List. These debarments were imposed 6 June 2019 and are a result of the named entities “violating, or conspiracy to violate, section 38 of the Arms Export Control Act (AECA).” Entities on the Statutory Debarment List are prohibited from participating (either directly or indirectly) in activities regulated by International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) for a specified period of time.

U.S. coordinates further action against Cuba

On 5 June 2019 the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) and the U.S. Department of State take coordinated actions against Cuba. OFAC amends the Cuban Assets Control Regulations (31 C.F.R. part 515; CACR), changing non-family travel to Cuba by removing authorization for group people-to-people educational travel. BIS removes authorization for the export or reexport to C

Hong Kong warns against risks associated with third-party transactions

On 31 May 2019 Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission published a circular to licensed corporations (LCs) and associated entities (AEs) emphasizing the importance of mitigating the risks associated with third-party deposits and payments. The circular states that in recent enforcement cases the procedures and policies used by LCs and AEs, when managing third-party transactions, were sub-standard and not properly enforced. Therefore, the Commission has published an Appen