The Office of Foreign Assets Control and the Department of State announced the following sanctions action last week:
Russia-related and Venezuela-related Sanctions
Cuba-related Sanctions
State Department expands sanctions on Cuba’s financial and energy sectors: On July 23, the State Department designated nine entities and two individuals tied to the Cuban regime’s energy sector, sanctions-evasion activities and overseas medical missions. The action targets financial institutions and facilitators, including Ceiba Investments Limited and remittance processor Orbit S.A., as well as entities linked to the state-run GAESA conglomerate and Cuba’s labor export program. The designations were issued pursuant to Executive Order 14404 to restrict the regime’s access to revenue and foreign currency. Read more.
Related to the State Department’s designation of CEIBA Investments Limited, OFAC issued Cuba General Licenses 2, 3 and 4 to authorize certain wind-down activities, transactions involving CEIBA debt and equity, and transactions related to third-country official missions in Cuba. OFAC also updated the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List. Read more.
Iran-related Sanctions
OFAC targets Babak Zanjani sanctions evasion network: On July 24, OFAC designated four individuals and nine entities tied to Iranian businessman Babak Zanjani’s sanctions evasion network, targeting companies involved in financial services, digital assets, transportation and other sectors used to move funds and obscure ownership. The action focuses on Zanjani’s Iran-based Dot One conglomerate and companies supporting his previously designated digital asset exchanges, Zedcex and Zedxion, which OFAC says have been used to facilitate sanctions evasion and support the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The designations build on OFAC’s January 2026 sanctions against Zanjani and were issued as part of ongoing efforts to disrupt Iran’s illicit financial networks. Read more.
Illicit Drug-related and Foreign Terrorist Organization Sanctions
OFAC targets CJNG leadership and criminal network: On July 23, OFAC sanctioned more than 50 individuals and entities linked to the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG), targeting the cartel’s leadership, financiers and criminal operations across multiple Mexican states. Among those designated is Juan Carlos Gonzalez, known as “Pelon,” who OFAC identified as CJNG’s new leader following the death of founder Ruben Oseguera Cervantes, also known as “El Mencho.” The designations also include front companies and financial facilitators used to launder proceeds and support the cartel’s drug trafficking, fuel smuggling and other illicit revenue-generating activities. The action, taken under Executive Orders 14059 and 13224, aims to disrupt CJNG’s criminal and financial networks. Read more.
Foreign Terrorist Organization Sanctions
OFAC targets Hamas financiers and Muslim Brotherhood-linked charities: On July 23, OFAC designated a senior Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood official, three individuals and three entities for providing material support to Hamas, including two sham charities that allegedly funneled funding to the group’s military wing. The action highlights the use of charitable fronts and underground financial networks to raise, move and conceal funds for Hamas across multiple jurisdictions. The designations were issued pursuant to Executive Order 13224, as amended, the United States’ primary counterterrorism sanctions authority. Read more.
