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Yesterday, the Treasury Department reported that OFAC has designated 12 individuals in connection with the Iranian regime’s ongoing, violent repression of the Iranian people, both within Iran’s borders and abroad. These designations target members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), officials of Iran’s Prisons Organization, and those responsible for lethal operations overseas.

For the names and identification information of the designated parties, see yesterday's BankersOnline OFAC Update.

FinCEN has published [89 FR 76187] in this morning's Federal Register a notice and request for comments on its proposed renewal, without change, of existing information collection requirements found in Bank Secrecy Act regulations [31 CFR § 1010.415] that require financial institutions to maintain records related to the issuance or sale of bank checks and drafts, cashier’s checks, money orders, and traveler’s checks when the issuance or sale involves the use of currency in an amount between $3,000 and $10,000, inclusive.

Comments will be accepted through November 18, 2024.

OFAC has published [89 FR 75955] in this morning’s Federal Register a final rule updating provisions related to blocking and other actions related to specific property or interests in property.

The rule is meant to clarify OFAC’s process for issuing certain orders that block or identify as blocked specific property or interests in property, or that impose other prohibitions less than full blocking with respect to specific property or interests in property. OFAC is adding information about these orders in regulatory notes in 35 of OFAC’s sanctions regulations — 31 CFR Parts 510, 525, 526, 536, 542, 544, 546, 547, 548, 549, 550, 551, 552, 553, 555, 558, 560, 562, 569, 570, 576, 578, 579, 582, 583, 584, 585, 587, 588, 589, 590, 591, 594, 598, and 599. The rule is effective upon publication.

The Treasury Department has issued announcements of designations under OFAC's Global Magnitsky and Cyber-related sanctions programs.

The Global Magnitsky sanctions designations included individuals who have undermined fundamental freedoms, including freedom of expression, in the country of Georgia. Specifically, the Department of the Treasury sanctioned two Georgian government officials associated with brutal crackdowns on peaceful protestors and political opponents, and two private Georgian citizens that are responsible for or complicit in, or have directly or indirectly engaged in violently suppressing the exercise of the freedom of peaceful assembly of Georgians engaged in the democratic process and peaceful expression.

OFAC also designated five individuals and one entity associated with the Intellexa Consortium under its Cyber-related sanctions for their role in developing, operating, and distributing commercial spyware technology that presents a significant threat to the national security of the United States.

For the names and identification information of the designated parties covered by both announcements, see the September 16, 2024, BankersOnline OFAC Update.

The FDIC has issued FIL-62-2024 with guidance to provide regulatory relief to financial institutions and facilitate recovery in areas of Pennsylvania — Lycoming, Potter, Tioga, and Union Counties — affected by Tropical Storm Debby August 9–10, 2024.

The Treasury Department has reported that OFAC has sanctioned Cambodian businessman Ly Yong Phat, his conglomerate L.Y.P. Group Co., and O‑Smach Resort for their role in serious human rights abuse related to the treatment of trafficked workers subjected to forced labor in online scam centers. OFAC also designated Cambodia-based Garden City Hotel, Koh Kong Resort, and Phnom Penh Hotel for being owned or controlled by Ly.

Treasury also announced that OFAC has designated 16 Maduro-aligned officials who obstructed a competitive and inclusive presidential election process in Venezuela and violated the civil and human rights of the people. The individuals sanctioned under the authority of Executive Order 13692 include leaders of the Maduro-aligned National Electoral Council and the Supreme Tribunal of Justice who impeded a transparent electoral process and the release of accurate election results, as well as the military, intelligence, and government officials responsible for intensifying repression through intimidation, indiscriminate detentions, and censorship.

For a link to the names and identification information of the designated parties, see yesterday's BankersOnline OFAC Update, which also includes information on a new Global Magnitsky General License and new and amended FAQs.

The Treasury Department on Wednesday announced that OFAC has sanctioned three individuals, five companies, and two vessels that are involved in smuggling oil and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to generate revenue for Hizballah.

For identification information on the individuals, entities, and vessels designated by OFAC, and other OFAC actions yesterday, see yesterday's BankersOnline OFAC Update.

The Treasury Department yesterday announced that OFAC has sanctioned nine Mexican nationals and 26 Mexico-based entities linked to a fuel theft network that generates tens of millions of dollars benefiting the Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG), a violent Mexico-based drug trafficking organization responsible for a significant proportion of fentanyl and other deadly drugs trafficked into the United States. Mexico-based drug trafficking cartels such as CJNG have turned to fuel theft in recent years, resulting in billions of dollars in lost revenue to the Mexican government. Today’s action was coordinated closely with the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Government of Mexico, including La Unidad de Inteligencia Financiera (UIF), Mexico’s Financial Intelligence Unit.

OFAC also designated ten individuals and six entities based in Iran and Russia and identified four vessels as blocked property that are enabling Iran’s delivery of weapons components and weapons systems, including unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and close-range ballistic missiles (CRBMs), to Russia.

For identification information on the individuals, entities, and vessels designated or identified yesterday, see BankersOnline’s September 10, 2024, OFAC Update.

FinCEN has updated its Beneficial Ownership Information FAQs webpage, adding Reporting Company questions C.15 and C.16, and updating Reporting Company question C.14 and Initial Report question G.4.

FinCEN on Monday released a Financial Trend Analysis on mail theft-related check fraud incidents based on Bank Secrecy Act data filed in the six months following FinCEN’s issuance of its 2023 alert on this same topic. During the review period, FinCEN received 15,417 BSA reports from 841 financial institutions on mail theft-related check fraud, amounting to more than $688 million in reported suspicious activity (the average amount reported was $44,774 per reported incident).

FinCEN identified three primary outcomes after checks were stolen from the U.S. Mail:

• 44 percent were altered and then deposited
• 26 percent were used as templates to create counterfeit checks
• 20 percent were fraudulently signed [indorsed] and deposited

Check manipulation methodologies ranged in sophistication, and many perpetrators tried to avoid interaction with bank personnel. FinCEN also found that banks filed 88 percent of all mail theft-related check fraud reports. Additionally, analysis revealed that financial institutions reported transactional activity or BSA filing subjects linked to every U.S. state, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. While every state was affected, populous states with large urban areas had more reported incidents.

Mail theft-related check fraud losses can affect personal savings, checking accounts, business accounts, and retirement savings, as well as negatively impact financial institutions that typically cover the check fraud losses.