NEWS: Former Qatari finance minister jailed for 20 years for laundering $5.6BN

Regulatory Watch News

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  Treasury Targets Network Transporting Hundreds of Millions of Dollars’ Worth of Iranian Petroleum

  OFAC

  April 10, 2025

  WASHINGTON — Today, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is designating United Arab Emirates (UAE)-based Indian national Jugwinder Singh Brar (Brar), who owns multiple shipping companies that boast a fleet of nearly 30 vessels,  many of which operate as part of Iran’s “shadow fleet.”  OFAC is also designating two UAE- and two India-based entities that own and operate Brar’s vessels that have transported Iranian oil on behalf of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) and the Iranian military.  Brar’s vessels engage in high-risk ship-to-ship (STS) transfers of Iranian petroleum in waters off Iraq, Iran, the UAE, and the Gulf of Oman.  These cargoes then reach other facilitators who blend the oil or fuel with products from other countries and falsify shipping documents to conceal links to Iran, allowing these cargoes to reach the international market.

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  The first ever UK prosecution of Russian sanction breaches

  The Crown Prosecution Service

  April 10, 2025

  Two individuals have been convicted  of breaches of Russian linked financial sanctions for the first time ever in the United Kingdom. Dmitrii Ovsyannikov, 48, and Alexei Ovsyannikov (AO), 47, have been found guilty of eight counts of breaching financial sanctions and two counts of money laundering at Southwark Crown Court Both defendants are Russian nationals and hold Russian passports. Dmitrii Ovsyannikov held senior positions in the Russian government structure such as being the former governor of Sevastopol, in the Russian occupied Crimea and a Deputy Minister. The European Union (which the United Kingdom was a member) introduced financial sanctions against certain Russian linked or backed individuals. When the UK left the EU; Dmitrii Ovsyannikov remained a designated person within the sanctions’ regime for this county and so he has been so since November 2017 to the present day.

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  We’re Moving In: A New Home for AMLA in Frankfurt

  AMLA

  April 10, 2025

  We’re excited to share a major milestone for AMLA —we have officially signed a lease for our new office space in Frankfurt! Our future home will be located in the iconic Messeturm, where we’ll be occupying the top floors. The lease agreement marks the beginning of our permanent presence in Frankfurt and our long-term commitment to the city. This is a big step for AMLA as we establish our first-ever official seat. With sweeping views from the upper floors and modern office infrastructure, our new space will support a dynamic, collaborative work environment and position us to deliver on our mission.