Trump Clears Way for Secondary Sanctions on Banks Dealing with Cuba
President Donald Trump on Friday signed an executive order authorizing penalties against foreign banks and other companies anywhere in the world that do business with the Cuban government.
Even with Stronger Western Ties, Syria Is a Big Buyer of Russian Oil
Russia has emerged as Syria’s dominant oil supplier, with shipments rising about 75 percent to roughly 60,000 barrels per day this year despite Damascus’s pivot toward the West and lingering public anger over Moscow’s military backing of ousted leader Bashar al-Assad.
U.S. Blacklists Ex-DRC Leader Kabila over Alleged Support for Rebel Groups
The United States imposed sanctions on former Democratic Republic of the Congo President Joseph Kabila, accusing him of supporting armed groups that Washington says have fueled conflict and instability in eastern Congo.
OFAC Targets Iran ‘Rahbar’ Networks, Warns on China Refinery Risks
OFAC designated 35 entities and individuals it said help run Iran’s shadow-banking system, focusing on private companies known as “rahbars” that move money for sanctioned Iranian banks through foreign shell companies and front-company accounts.
Tether Freezes $344mn in USDT in Coordination with OFAC
Tether froze more than $344 million in USDT across two addresses Thursday in coordination with the U.S. authorities, the stablecoin issuer announced, in one of the largest compliance actions in the company’s history.
U.S. Moves Against Asian Scam Centers, Sinaloa Supply Chain
U.S. officials on Wednesday struck at Southeast Asian scam compounds defrauding Americans and a global fentanyl supply chain, announcing criminal charges, sanctions, and the seizure of hundreds of fraudulent websites in a pair of coordinated enforcement actions.
China Counters Sanctions Threats with Tougher Trade Rules
China has rolled out tough new rules aimed at countering foreign sanctions, explicitly linking the measures to U.S. threats of secondary sanctions on Chinese banks over Iranian oil purchases and warning that further retaliation tools are likely to follow.
Brazil’s PCC Has Grown from a Prison Gang to a Cocaine Superpower
Brazil’s First Capital Command, or PCC, has expanded from a prison gang founded in Sao Paulo state in 1993 into what authorities describe as the largest criminal group in the Americas, with some 40,000 members and affiliates operating in nearly 30 countries.
U.S. Blacklists Network Allegedly Linked to Iran’s Arms Procurement
The U.S. Treasury on Tuesday imposed sanctions on 14 individuals, entities, and aircraft in Iran, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates that it said were involved in arming Iran with missiles and drones.
U.S. Extends Lapsed Sanctions Waiver on Russian Oil Sales
The Trump administration has extended for about a month a sanctions exemption covering some Russian oil already at sea, reversing course just two days after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the United States would not renew the waiver.