The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned two Iranian judges who have “punished” citizens for exercising freedoms of expression and assembly, Treasury said in a Dec. 19 press release. The sanctions target Abolghassem Salavati, who presides over Branch 15 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, and Mohammad Moghisseh, who presides over Branch 28.

The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control designated a Guatemalan mayor, four Guatemalan nationals, five Guatemalan businesses and a drug trafficking organization as significant narcotics traffickers, Treasury said in a Dec. 19 press release. OFAC sanctioned Erik Salvador Suñiga Rodriguez, the Suñiga Rodriguez drug trafficking organization and various associates and family members of Rodriguez, including Wildin Tulio Jui Escobar, Juan Carlos Cruz Ovalle, Jose Juan Suñiga Rodriguez and Alex Oswaldo Parada Rodriguez. The sanctioned entities include Multiservicios y Finca El Encanto (an agricultural company), Rancho La Dorada (an agricultural company), Cevicheria La Concha (a restaurant), Star Market Melanye (a grocery store) and JC Car Audio (a car audio store), Treasury said. Treasury also released a chart related to the sanctions.

The U.S. extended sanctions related to global human rights abuses for one year, according to a Dec. 18 notice issued by the White House. Human rights violations “continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat” to the U.S. national and economic security, the notice said. The notice extends sanctions outlined in a 2017 executive order that provides authority for actions under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau urged the country’s foreign affairs minister to build on its Magnitsky Law sanctions regime by ensuring seized assets from sanctioned parties are transferred to their victims, according to a Dec. 13 mandate letter. The measure will increase “support for victims of human rights violations” and will be conducted “with appropriate judicial oversight,” the letter said.

Turkey has failed to properly apply United Nations sanctions and designations, which are often subject to “long delays” and are not effectively enforced, the Financial Action Task Force said in a December report. The FATF said “no penalties or oversight exist for contravention” of certain UN sanctions in Turkey, and the country has been unable to provide “evidence” that it is making “good use” of tools that allow authorities to seize criminal assets and carry out sanctions enforcement. Turkey also has never imposed a terrorism-related designation, the report said.

The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control removed sanctions imposed on Ventspils Freeport Authority and amended a general license to reflect the change, according to a Dec. 18 notice. Ventspils was designated Dec. 9 for being owned by a sanctioned Latvian oligarch (see 1912090019), but is being removed from U.S. sanctions because the Latvian government passed legislation “effectively ending” the oligarch’s ownership, Treasury said in a Dec. 18 press release. OFAC also replaced Global Magnitsky General License 1 with General License 1A, which removes any mention of the Ventspils Freeport Authority.

The State Department issued a Dec. 16 sanctions advisory about exports of graphite electrodes and needle coke to Iran, saying those materials subject exporters to “significant sanctions risk.” Both materials are “essential” to Iran’s steel industry, the State Department said, which is sanctioned by the U.S. Sanctions extend to producers and exporters of the materials along with “port operators, shippers, shipping companies, and vessel operators and owners,” who may be subject to blocking sanctions, even if the intended end-user is not in Iran’s steel sector.

China and Russia proposed a draft resolution to the United Nations Security Council to ease sanctions on North Korea, a spokesman for China’s Foreign Ministry said at a Dec. 17 press conference. China said it wants to denuclearize the Korean peninsula through continued negotiations between the U.S. and North Korea, which should result in the removal of sanctions. “Some sanctions should be lifted in light of [North Korea’s] compliance with relevant resolutions,” the spokesman said. “China hopes the Security Council members will … support the draft resolution proposed by China and Russia and jointly work for political settlement of the Peninsula issue.” Along with lifting sanctions, the proposal submitted by China and Russia calls for the removal of a ban on North Korean exports of statues, seafood and textiles, according to a Dec. 17 report from Reuters.

The United Kingdom's Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation released a Dec. 17 guidance on determining whether a sanctioned entity is involved in a transaction. The guidance contains links to OFSI’s consolidated list and describes difficulties that may rise when screening certain companies, including complicated ownership stakes and the use of shell companies. The guidance details a case study involving the Libya African Investment Portfolio and the Libyan Investment Authority, two sanctioned entities with hotel subsidiaries that may avoid screening detection. The guidance also offers advice for steps to take after discovering a sanctioned entity in a transaction.

The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned two South Sudan officials for obstructing peace talks, Treasury said in a Dec. 16 press release. OFAC targeted the Minister of Cabinet Affairs Martin Elia Lomuro and Minister of Defense and Veteran Affairs Kuol Manyang Juuk, who have both “perpetuated” the country’s “conflict for their own personal enrichment,” the press release said.