The Office of Foreign Assets Control on April 2 removed sanctions from VTB Bank Europe, the European subsidiary of Russian state-owned VTB Bank.

A U.S. government official didn’t say for sure whether the Treasury Department will allow a general license involving Venezuela’s state-owned energy company to expire next month, but suggested companies should expect it to lapse if the Venezuelan government doesn’t soon reverse its crackdown on political opposition members.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week delisted a Netherlands-based entity that it had sanctioned in 2022 for being owned by Dutch national Alex Adrianus Martinus Peijnenburg. OFAC said Peijnenburg ran an illegal dark web drug trafficking network. The announcement removed the entity Bellizo from the Specially Designated Nationals List.

Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo and Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna met this week to discuss Russia-related sanctions evasion. Treasury said Adeyemo stressed the importance of “strengthening the international response” to Russia through combating “the evasion of sanctions and export control measures,” and “both confirmed the importance of enforcement of the” global price cap on Russian oil. The U.S. has sanctioned Estonia-based companies (see 2403250029), and in October added others to the Commerce Department’s Entity List (see 2310060044) for helping Russia evade sanctions and export controls.

The U.S. and the U.K. this week sanctioned Mustafa Ayash and Aozma Sultana, the founders of companies that fundraise on behalf of the terror group Hamas. The U.S. also sanctioned the companies: Gaza Now, which is owned by Ayash, and Al-Qureshi Executives and Aakhirah Limited, operated by Sultana.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned six people and two entities based in Russia, China and the United Arab Emirates for helping to generate revenue or process financial transactions for North Korea.

The U.S. this week sanctioned six entities, one person and two tankers that have helped ship goods and facilitate financial transactions on behalf of the Iranian military, the Iran-backed Houthis and Hezbollah. The Office of Foreign Assets Control said they are tied to sanctioned Houthi financial facilitator Sa’id al-Jamal (see 2403060017).

The U.S. this week sanctioned 11 people and entities supporting the Bashar al-Assad-led government in Syria, including companies that ship illegal drugs. OFAC said the designations target traffickers of Captagon -- the brand name of a “highly addictive amphetamine-type stimulant” trafficked in the Middle East and Europe -- along with entities helping Syria evade sanctions.

The U.S. and the U.K. this week sanctioned a Chinese company and two people for carrying out cyberattacks against American and British entities and critical infrastructure sectors.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned 13 entities and two people with ties to Russia’s financial services and technology industries for offering services to evade U.S. sanctions. OFAC said many of the companies operate blockchain-based services that allow virtual currency payments in Russia’s financial sector, “thus enabling potential sanctions evasion.”