The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned 18 people and six entities under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act for human rights violations, Treasury said in a Dec. 10 press release. The people are located in Burma, Pakistan, Libya, Slovakia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan, and the six entities are all located in Slovakia.

The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control issued two new Venezuela-related frequently asked questions concerning filing a lawsuit against sanctioned Venezuelan people or entities and conducting an auction for shares of a sanctioned Venezuelan entity, according to a Dec. 9 notice.

A U.S. insurance company was fined about $170,000 for violating the Cuban Assets Control Regulations, the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control said in a Dec. 9 enforcement notice. Allianz Global Risks US Insurance Company (AGR US), a subsidiary of Germany-based Allianz SE, committed more than 6,000 violations of the CACR, OFAC said.

Chubb Limited, a Swiss holding company, was fined about $65,000 for more than 20,000 violations of the Cuban Assets Control Regulations, the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control said in an enforcement notice. The violations were the responsibility of ACE Limited -- an insurance and reinsurance service provider with locations in Switzerland, U.S. and Britain -- which merged with Chubb Corp. in 2016 to form Chubb Limited.

The United Kingdom's Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation renewed sanctions against Khalid Shaikh Mohammed under the Terrorist Asset-Freezing etc. Act of 2010, according to a Dec. 5 notice. The sanctions block transactions with Mohammed and freeze any of his financial accounts associated with the United Kingdom.

The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned more than 40 people and entities involved in corruption networks in Europe, Asia and Latin America, and issued a general license to allow for wind-down activities, according to a Dec. 9 notice.

A US telecommunications company may have violated U.S. sanctions against Sudan, according to the company’s Dec. 4 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Comtech Telecommunications Corp. disclosed to the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control in 2014 that it sent a “shipment of modems” to a Canadian customer, which was eventually “incorporated into a communication system” destined for an end-user at the Sudan Civil Aviation Authority, the filing said. OFAC subpoenaed Comtech in 2015 for information about the sale, the company said, which was worth about $288,000. Comtech responded to the subpoena and alerted OFAC of the company’s repair of three modems for a Lebanese customer who may have rerouted the modems from Lebanon to Sudan without the required U.S. license, the filing said. Comtech entered into two tolling agreements with OFAC, including one in November, which extends the statute of limitations in the case through June 2020.

The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned three Iranian militia leaders for attacks on peaceful protests and an Iraqi millionaire for corruption, Treasury said in a Dec. 6 press release. The militia leaders, Qais al-Khazali, Laith al-Khazali and Husayn Falih ‘Aziz al-Lami, opened fire on protesters, killing dozens, Treasury said. Both Qais al-Khazali and Laith al-Khazali are leaders of Iran-backed Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq, a militia in Iraq. ‘Aziz al-Lami was tasked by senior militia commanders to suppress protests in Iraq and was a part of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force. Khamis Farhan al-Khanjar al-Issawi, an Iraqi businessman, allegedly bribed government officials for “personal gain,” including by securing government contracts, Treasury said.

The State Department designated Amadou Kouffa a Specially Designated Global Terrorist, according to a notice. Kouffa was previously added to the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control’s Specially Designated Nationals List for his involvement with a West African terrorist group (see 1911070035).

Australia's parliament announced an inquiry to examine whether the country should adopt sanctions on human rights violations, the parliament said in a Dec. 4 press release. Kevin Andrews, a member of parliament and chair of the government’s Human Rights Subcommittee, said the inquiry will focus on Australia's current sanctions laws, its ability to impose sanctions on foreign actors committing human rights violations, its enforcement methods and a comparison to other jurisdictions to determine whether Australia's sanctions laws can be strengthened.