blacklists

Oct. 14 (UPI) — China on Tuesday blacklisted five U.S. subsidiaries of South Korean shipmaker Hanwha Ocean, escalating the trade row between Beijing and Washington.

The countermeasures prohibit Chinese entities and individuals from engaging in business with Hanwha Ocean America in Houston, Texas; Hanwha Ocean USA in San Diego, Calif.; Hanwha Ocean Defense Systems in Norfolk, Va.; Hanwha Ocean Marine Engineering in New York City, N.Y.; and Hanwha Ocean Procurement Services in Bridgeport, Conn.

Beijing’s Commerce Ministry said the companies were blacklisted to counter actions the United States has taken against China targeting its maritime, logistics and shipbuilding sectors.

“These subsidiaries have assisted and supported relevant U.S. government investigations and actions, thereby endangering China’s sovereignty, security and development interests,” the ministry said in a statement.

China’s Ministry of Transport is also charging U.S.-linked vessels special port fees.

The countermeasures were announced as the first phase of fees the United States is leveling against China’s ship industry is to go into effect following findings of an April 2024 investigation launched by the U.S. Trade Representative under the previous Biden administration into China’s alleged unfair practices in the maritime, logistics and shipbuilding sectors.

The investigation was launched at the behest of five national labor unions accusing China of employing non-market policies far more aggressive and interventionist than employed by any other country in an effort to dominate the global shipbuilding, maritime and logistics sectors.

As remedy, the U.S. Trade Representative in March proposed services fees and port-entry fees against Chinese-origin ships, effective Tuesday.

A spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Commerce alleged to reporters Tuesday that the United States’ action “severely violates” World Trade Organization rules and “breaches the principle of equality and mutual benefit” of a 1980 agreement between Beijing and Washington concerning maritime transport cooperation.

“China has repeatedly express its strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition,” the spokesperson said, while accusing the United States of being unwilling to cooperate with Beijing on the matter.

“China’s countermeasures are necessary acts of passive defense and are aimed at maintaining the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese industries and enterprises, as well as the level playing-field of the international shipping and shipbuilding markets,” the spokesperson said.

“It is hoped the U.S. will face up to its mistake, move with China in the same direction and return to the right track of dialogue and consultation.”

U.S.-China trade relations, which deteriorated sharply during Trump’s first term, have further strained under his current administration, which has repeatedly imposed tariffs on Chinese goods that are being challenged in U.S. courts and at the World Trade Organization.

The two countries have been in a trade squabble since last week when Beijing’s Commerce Ministry announced tightened export restrictions on rare earth items and materials. In response, Trump announced a 100% tariff threat on his Truth Social media platform. China, whose imports are currently subject to a 30% tariff, responded by threatening to retaliate.

The back and forth comes after representatives from Washington and Beijing held trade talks in Beijing last month with prospects of further negotiations continuing this month in South Korea.

However, whether those discussions will take place on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Gyeongju remains unclear.

Sept. 25 (UPI) — The United States has blacklisted two Indian nationals accused of operating online pharmacies selling illegal, counterfeit drugs to unsuspecting Americans.

The Treasury sanctioned Abbas Habib Sayyed, 39, and Khizar Mohammad Iqbal Shaikh, 34, as well as Shaikh’s KS International Traders online pharmacy on Wednesday for their alleged role in supplying hundreds of thousands of counterfeit prescription pills filled with fentanyl, fentanyl analogs and methamphetamine in the United States.

“Too many families have been torn apart by fentanyl,” John Hurley, under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence at the Treasury, said in a statement.

“Today, we are acting to hold accountable those who profit from this poison.”

Sayyed and Shaikh were among 18 people indicted in New York in September of last year on accusations of selling counterfeit pills to American over the Internet and via encrypted messaging platforms. The fugitives, if convicted, face a mandatory 20 years in prison to life, according to the Justice Department.

In October, the Drug Enforcement Administration issued a public safety alert warning the public to the dangers posed by these bogus online pharmacies that sell and ship counterfeit pills made of fentanyl and methamphetamine to U.S. customers who believe they are purchasing genuine brand-name drugs, such as Oxycodone, Adderall, Xanax and others.

The DEA said it has identified many of the sites as being operated in India and the Dominican Republic.

Treasury officials on Wednesday said Sayyed and Shaikh work with Dominican Republic- and U.S.-based traffickers to sell their counterfeit pills, which are marketed as discounted, legitimate drugs, but are filled with fentanyl and methamphetamine.

“Both Sayyed and Shaikh have used encrypted messaging platforms to conduct their illegal business and market their product to victims,” the Treasury said.

Despite the indictment, the Treasury said Shaikh continues to operate KS International Traders.

The sanctions freeze all U.S.-based property and assets of those designated and bar U.S. persons from doing business with them.

Sept. 12 (UPI) — The U.S. Treasury has sanctioned nearly three dozen people and firms, accused of being part of a massive fundraising, smuggling and weapon-procurement network for the Iran-backed Houthi rebels.

The network of 32 people and firms blacklisted Wednesday is located in Yemen, China, the United Arab Emirates and the Marshall Islands, and are accused of being Houthi-associated companies, their owners and key Houthi operatives.

The Treasury said those targeted finance and facilitate the Houthis’ procurement of advanced military-grade materials, including ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as components for drones the Houthis have used to attack U.S. military and commercial vessels.

The United States has been targeting the Houthis amid Israel’s war against Hamas, another Iran-backed proxy, which exploded into the open Oct. 7, 2023, when it attacked Israel.

In response, Israel launched an ongoing war in Gaza that has devastated the Palestinian enclave and killed nearly 65,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, since then.

Since mid-November 2023, the Houthis have been enforcing a military blockade of the Red Sea, attacking vessels that cross in solidarity with the Palestinian people, resulting in the deaths of a handful of mariners and sinking at least four ships.

“The Houthis continue to threaten U.S. personnel and assets in the Red Sea, attack our allies in the region and undermine international maritime security in coordination with the Iranian regime,” John Hurley, under secretary of the Treasury for terrorism and financial intelligence, said in a statement.

Among those sanctioned Thursday was Salih Dubaysh, who was named the replacement for Saleh Mesfer Alshaer after he was sanctioned in 2021.

Dubaysh has since been in charge of the Houthis’ seizure of Yemen state-owned and private assets across the country. The Treasury said he has confiscated private land for the Houthis under the pretext that the owners had committed treason against the militia.

Abdullah Mesfer al-Shaer, a relative of Dubaysh, was also sanctioned, along with companies under his name.

A group of petroleum smugglers linked to Mohammad Abdulsalam — who was sanctioned in March — as well as Houthi-linked maritime shipping companies, were also blacklisted, along with weapons and components procurement facilitators and suppliers.

Aug. 11 (UPI) — The United States on Monday designated the Pakistan-based separatist group Balochistan Liberation Army and its Majeed Brigade suicide attack unit as foreign terrorist organizations.

The designations from the State Department come years after it designated the BLA as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist in 2019. The move on Monday also includes designating the Majeed Brigade as an SDGT.

The BLA is primarily located in Pakistan’s largest province, Balochistan, and seeks independence from Islamabad, while the Majeed Brigade is a unit of the BLA that conducts suicide attacks on its behalf.

According to West Point’s Terrorism Center, the Baloch insurgency has intensified this year. On March 11, the BLA hijacked a Jaffar Express passenger train, kidnapping 400 people and resulting in the deaths of at least 26 hostages.

In the past year, it has claimed responsibility for suicide attacks near the Karachi airport and the Gwadar Port Authority Complex.

Often targets of the Majeed Brigade are Chinese workers or enterprises as the BLA opposes the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

The State Department blacklisted the BLA in 2019, following several terrorist attacks in the preceding year, including the targeting of Chinese engineers in Balochistan and the Chinese consulate in Karachi in November 2018.

“Terrorist designations play a critical role in our fight against this scourge and are an effective way to curtail support for terrorist activities,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Monday in a statement.

The new terrorist designation is broader than the previous SDGT, and bars U.S. citizens from supporting the BLA.

It also comes nearly a month after the State Department designated The Resistance Front, which it called a front and proxy group of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Tayyiba.

July 2 (UPI) — The United States has blacklisted a Russia-based bulletproof hosting services provider, two affiliated companies and four of its leaders accused of aiding bad actors in evading detection as they conduct cybercrimes.

Aeza Group is accused of providing its services to ransomware and malware groups, including Medusa and Lumma infostealer operators, who have employed the hosting services provider to target the U.S. defense industrial base and technology companies, among a slew of others.

According to the Treasury, Aeza Group sells its services to these malign actors who are given access to specialized servers and other computer infrastructure to help them disseminate their criminal software without detection.

“Cybercriminals continue to rely heavily on BPH service providers like Aeza Group to facilitate disruptive ransomware attacks, steal U.S. technology and sell black-market drugs,” Acting Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Bradley Smith said in a statement.

Along with Aeza Group its British branch, Aeza International, was also blacklisted Tuesday. The Treasury said Aeza Group uses Aeza International to lease IP addresses to cybercriminals.

Aeza Logistic and Cloud Solutions were also sanctioned for being Russia-based subsidiaries of Aeza Group.

Individuals sanctioned were listed as Arsenii Aleksandrovich Penze, CEO and one-third owner of Aeza Group, Yurri Meruzhanovich Bozoyan, general director and one-third owner of Aeza Group, Vladimir Vyacheslavovich Gast, technical director of Aeza Group, and Igor Anatolyevich Knyazev, a one-third owner of Aeza Group.

The Treasury acknowledged Britain for its assistance that led to the designation of Aeza International.

“Treasury, in close coordination with the UK and other international partners, remains resolved to expose the critical nodes, infrastructure and individuals that underpin this criminal ecosystem,” Smith said.

The blacklisting comes after the United States, Australia and Britain jointly sanctioned Russia-based bulletproof hosting service provider Zservers in February.