On January 25, 2021, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control issued a new Counter Terrorism related general license and amended one frequently asked question. General License No. 13, “Authorizing Transactions Involving Ansarallah,” issued pursuant to the Global Terrorism Sanctions Regulations, 31 CFR Part 594, Foreign Terrorist Organizations Sanctions Regulations, 31 CFR Part 597, and Executive Order 13224, as amended, authorizes all transactions involving Ansarallah or any entity owned 50 percent or more by Ansarallah until 12:01 am EST on February 26, 2021.
According to amended FAQ 876, OFAC clarifies that non-US persons do not risk exposure to sanctions under EO 13224, as amended, if they engage in transactions involving Ansarallah or entities owned 50 percent or more by Ansarallah, as long as the activity is authorized for US persons under GLs 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13. OFAC also emphasizes that activities authorized to be engaged in by US persons under GLs 9-13 will not be considered “significant” in nature for purposes of secondary sanctions determinations under EO 13224, as amended. These authorizations also apply to foreign financial institutions that knowingly handle transactions on behalf of Ansarallah.
OFAC also upgraded its sanctions search tool to improve the tool’s performance and make it more responsive. OFAC announced the change to notify regular users that they may receive different search results when using the new tool, as the result of new fuzzy logic that is more resource efficient.
Department of Treasury Recent Action | General License 13 | FAQ 876 | OFAC Recent Action – Sanctions Search Upgrade