Weekly News Digest - September Week Two

OFAC — Office of Foreign Assets Control

September 10 — Iran-related and Counter Terrorism Designations; Licensing Policy Update under Operation Economic Outcast; Settlement Agreement between OFAC and an Individual
OFAC sanctioned networks supporting Kata’ib Hizballah and Lebanese Hizballah, adopted a presumption of denial for most Iran-related specific licence applications, and announced a $1.43 million individual settlement for apparent Iran-sanctions violations.

September 9 — Transnational Criminal Organizations Designations; Counter Terrorism Designation; Issuance of New and Amended Frequently Asked Questions
OFAC designated Xinbi Guarantee and two supporting technology companies for facilitating cyber-enabled fraud, designated Los Tiguerones, and issued two new and several amended sanctions FAQs.

September 8 — Treasury Grounds Iranian Airlines with Sweeping Sanctions Action
Treasury sanctioned 36 aviation-sector targets and restricted aviation authorizations as part of a campaign against Iranian airline and aircraft-procurement networks. 

FinCEN — Financial Crimes Enforcement Network

September 10 — FinCEN Issues Whistleblower Bulletin on Iran-Related Illicit Finance
FinCEN invited eligible whistleblower reports concerning BSA or sanctions violations involving Iranian proxies, facilitators and illicit commercial activity.

September 8 — FinCEN Issues FAQs Regarding Treatment of Verifiable Digital Credentials Under the Customer Identification Program Rule
FinCEN and federal banking regulators clarified how mobile driver’s licences and other government-issued digital credentials may be used for identity verification under the CIP Rule.