Weapon Program:
- Military
AGENCY:
Office of Foreign Assets Control, Treasury.
ACTION:
Final rule.
SUMMARY:
The Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is amending the Global Terrorism Sanctions Regulations pursuant to a provision of the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act of 2017. This provision requires the imposition of certain terrorism-related sanctions with respect to foreign persons that are officials, agents, or affiliates of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
DATES:
Effective: October 31, 2017.
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Background
On June 6, 2003, OFAC issued the Global Terrorism Sanctions Regulations, 31 CFR part 594 (the “Regulations”) (68 FR 34196, June 6, 2003), to implement Executive Order 13224 of September 23, 2001 (66 FR 49079, September 25, 2001) (E.O. 13224). OFAC has amended the Regulations on several occasions. Today, OFAC is amending the Regulations pursuant to section 105 of the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act of 2017, Public Law 115-44, Aug. 2, 2017, 131 Stat. 886 (22 U.S.C. 9401 et seq.) (CAATSA).
CAATSA. The President signed CAATSA into law on August 2, 2017. Section 105 of CAATSA requires the President to impose the sanctions applicable with respect to a foreign person pursuant to E.O. 13224 on Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and foreign persons that are officials, agents, or affiliates of the IRGC. Such sanctions must be imposed beginning on the date that is 90 days after enactment of CAATSA, which is October 31, 2017. Section 111(b) of CAATSA provides that the President may exercise all authorities provided under sections 203 and 205 of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1702 and 1704) to carry out the purposes of CAATSA.
Pursuant to Presidential Memorandum of October 11, 2017: Delegation of Certain Functions and Authorities under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act of 2017, the President delegated to the Secretary of State and the Secretary of the Treasury the functions and authorities vested in the President by section 105(b) of CAATSA Start Printed Page 50314to be exercised in consultation with each other and commensurate with their respective areas of responsibility set forth in previous Presidential actions under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), including E.O. 13224, and the functions and authorities set forth in section 111(b) of CAATSA to be exercised commensurate with their respective areas of responsibility set forth in the delegation memorandum.
Sanctions applicable with respect to a foreign person pursuant to E.O. 13224. E.O. 13224 blocks and prohibits all transactions in, with certain exceptions, all property and interests in property of foreign persons listed in the Annex to E.O. 13224 or persons designated pursuant to criteria set forth in that order by the Secretary of State or the Secretary of the Treasury. On October 13, 2017, OFAC designated the IRGC pursuant to E.O. 13224 and consistent with the CAATSA for its activities in support of the IRGC-Qods Force (82 FR 48591, October 18, 2017), which was designated pursuant to E.O. 13224 on October 25, 2007 (72 FR 65837, November 23, 2007).
Regulatory action. OFAC is taking this regulatory action pursuant to section 105(b) of CAATSA to extend the sanctions applicable pursuant to E.O. 13224 to foreign persons that are officials, agents, or affiliates of the IRGC. Subpart B of the Regulations currently implements the prohibitions contained in E.O. 13224. See, e.g., §§ 594.201 and 594.204. With this rule, OFAC is adding § 594.201(a)(5) to Subpart B of the Regulations to include the following as persons whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to the Regulations: Foreign persons that are identified on the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List (SDN List) maintained by OFAC as officials, agents, or affiliates of the IRGC.
The names of persons whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to § 594.201(a) are published in the Federal Register and incorporated into OFAC's SDN List with the identifier “[SDGT].” Persons who have been identified by OFAC as officials, agents, or affiliates of the IRGC are identified by a special reference to the “IRGC” at the end of their entries on the SDN List, in addition to the reference to this part. For example, an affiliate of the IRGC whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this part will have the program tags “[SDGT][IRGC]” at the end of its entry on the SDN List. In addition, OFAC is amending the delegation provision in § 594.802.
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