To mark the four-year anniversary of the fraudulent 2020 election of Alyaksandr Lukashenka in Belarus, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, in coordination with the United Kingdom, the European Union and Canada, designated additional persons responsible for the destabilization of Belarus; the ongoing anti-democratic efforts of the Lukashenka regime; and the regime’s support for Russia’s war against Ukraine. On August 9, 2024, OFAC announced that it sanctioned 19 individuals, 14 entities and the EW-001PB, a Boeing airplane used by the Government of Belarus as a presidential aircraft. The OFAC designations target persons involved in the production of military resources and the transshipment of goods to Russia to support Russia’s war in Ukraine, including Belarus-based cargo airline companies Aviakompaniya Rada LLC (“Rada”), EU Rubistar (“Rubistar”), and Aviakompaniya Belkanto LLC (“Belkanto”). OFAC also targeted individuals and entities that have helped Belarusian defense entities evade sanctions or have generated revenues for Belarusian oligarchs in Lukashenka’s inner-circle. The designations were imposed pursuant to Executive Order 14038, the Belarus sanctions regime. Five of the new designees were also sanctioned under Russia-related EO 14024.
OFAC also issued General License 101 under Russian Harmful Foreign Activities Sanctions Regulations (“RuHSR”), 31 CFR part 587, to temporarily authorize wind down transactions and civil aviation safety transactions involving Rada, Rubistar, Belkanto, or any entity in which these companies own a 50 percent or greater interest. The general license permits these transactions until September 10, 2024, provided that the goods or services are for use on aircraft operated solely for civil aviation purposes.
On August 9, 2024, the United Kingdom also marked the anniversary of Belarus’s flawed 2020 presidential election by designating 4 individuals and 3 entities in response to the ongoing human rights violations in Belarus and its ongoing support for Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine. The UK also announced plans to provide £2.5 million in funding to support Belarusian human rights and civil society causes. According to the UK government, Belarusian authorities have made more than 40,000 politically motivated arrests since the 2020 election and pursued at least 12,000 politically motivated criminal cases. The UK government also reported that at least 6 of those political prisoners have died due to violence and a lack of medical attention.
The new UK designees include 1 former and 3 current commanding officers of Belarusian penal colonies where numerous political prisoners are allegedly being held on trumped up charges. The designated entities include JSC NIIEVM, a government-affiliated entity that operates in Belarus’s defense sector. These designations were imposed under the Republic of Belarus (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019, which subjects listed persons to asset freezes in the United Kingdom.
On the same day, the Government of Canada also announced the designation of 10 individuals and 6 entities for their alleged roles in Belarus’s ongoing and systematic human rights abuses and their support for Russia’s illegal war of aggression against Ukraine. Seven individuals, in particular, were designated in connection with “gross and systematic human rights violations in Belarus.”
U.S. Department of Treasury Press Release | General License 101 | UK Government Press Release | OFSI Financial Sanctions Notice – Belarus | Government of Canada Backgrounder