The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control issued Iran General License FF-1 on October 29, 2026, authorizing qualifying transactions necessary to wind down dealings with International Development Bank for Investment and Finance, also known as Iraq Development Bank.
Treasury’s October 28 sanctions action underscores how North Korean IT worker schemes expose U.S. businesses to sanctions liability, data theft, and extortion through seemingly legitimate hiring.
The revisions principally update explanations and filing instructions to reflect existing requirements. They do not create 11 new compliance obligations.
The Trump administration’s efforts to ease sanctions on Russia could open substantial commercial opportunities for Russian state interests and private investors, combining newly authorized diesel sales with a proposed $25 billion Alaska gas venture and possible relief for the Kremlin’s multibillion-dollar investment fund.
A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers has warned major banks, port authorities and fuel distributors that facilitating Russian diesel imports under President Donald Trump’s agreement with Moscow could expose them to legal action and congressional investigations.
The removals unwind sanctions imposed in 2021 on Chinese animation businesses and an intermediary accused of supporting North Korea’s SEK Studio, and on a Belarusian executive designated for acting on behalf of state oil and chemical concern Belneftekhim.
The proposed EU action would shield European banks, technology companies and other service providers from U.S. sanctions targeting the International Criminal Court, potentially creating conflicting legal obligations for firms operating in both jurisdictions. Brussels is preparing to extend its blocking statute as Washington presses the court to amend the Rome Statute to protect President Trump and other U.S. officials from prosecution.
The U.S. Treasury Department on October 21 sanctioned law firm Karnakis and Karnakis , five associated individuals, a cargo fleet operator, and two shipping agents. OFAC also identified nine vessels as blocked property and issued two limited Iran-related general licenses.
President Trump issued an executive order on October 16 implementing the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 while waiving its tariff provisions and numerous sanctions and restrictions.
The sanctions bring trade-secret risk directly into investment compliance, requiring banks, fund managers, and technology companies to assess their exposure to the designated MiraclePlus entities.
U.S. private equity firm Carlyle Group has abandoned its active pursuit of Lukoil's international assets after its acquisition agreement expired without Treasury Department approval, leaving a consortium led by investor Todd Boehly among the remaining contenders for the Russian oil company's overseas business.
The European Union added 1,646 persons and entities to its Russia sanctions list on October 12, increasing the number of designations under its Ukraine territorial-integrity regime by about 35%, to nearly 4,600.
Global Affairs Canada (GAC) has published guidance on Canada’s sanctions deemed ownership provisions, addressing when a listed person’s control of an unlisted entity can bring that entity’s property within sanctions restrictions. The guidance warrants attention from financial institutions, businesses and counsel assessing counterparties with complex ownership or governance arrangements.
The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control removed Jorge Jesús Rodríguez Gómez, president of Venezuela’s National Assembly, and brother of Delcy Rodríguez, Venezuela’s acting president, from its Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List. OFAC also extended General License 60, permitting earthquake relief transactions otherwise prohibited by the Venezuela Sanctions Regulations.
The licenses avert an immediate operational shutdown but leave the ICC under sustained U.S. leverage. Routine subscriptions, telecommunications and enterprise software may continue—some indefinitely, others only through April 7, 2027—but vendors must still screen separately sanctioned officials and may withdraw services voluntarily.
The bipartisan appeal puts pressure on the administration to translate the new sanctions law into enforcement before most provisions take effect Oct.
The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control warned foreign financial institutions on October 5 that continued dealings with Iran or its financial sector could expose them to sanctions under Operation Economic Outcast. The alert states that institutions transacting with sanctioned Iranian financial institutions could be targeted “at any time without advance notification” and urges them to terminate those activities and relationships.
Included in the "modernization initiative," OFAC dropped sanctions on former Belarusian transport minister Aliaksei Mikalaevich Auramenka , designated in August 2021 for the forced diversion of Ryanair flight FR4978 and the resulting arrests. The update also removed the designations of three Venezuelans sanctioned for corruption, obstruction of humanitarian aid and undermining democracy.
The Treasury Department has sanctioned the Russia-linked A7 Network as a significant transnational criminal organization while FinCEN has moved separately to bar U.S. financial institutions from transmitting funds involving A7's overseas sub-agents, targeting a payment network built to keep Russian foreign trade moving under Western sanctions.
The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control has consolidated penalty and enforcement provisions for sanctions imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and the United Nations Participation Act in new 31 C.F.R. Part 505.
