Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act Annual Report
| Published date | 23 February 2024 |
| Record Number | 2024-03532 |
| Citation | 89 FR 13795 |
| Court | State Department |
| Section | Notices |
Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 37 (Friday, February 23, 2024)
[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 37 (Friday, February 23, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13795-13799]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-03532]
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DEPARTMENT OF STATE
[Public Notice: 12335]
Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act Annual Report
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: This notice contains the text of the report required by the
Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, as submitted by the
Secretary of State.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Andrew Self, Email: [email protected],
Phone: (202) 412 3586.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On January 25, 2024, the Under Secretary of
State for Political Affairs approved the following report pursuant to
the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act (Pub. L. 114-328,
title XII, subtitle F) (``the Act''), which is implemented and built
upon by Executive Order 13818 of December 20, 2017, ``Executive Order
Blocking the Property of Persons Involved in Serious Human Rights Abuse
or Corruption'' (E.O. 13818). The text of the report follows:
Pursuant to section 1264 of the Act, and in accordance with E.O.
13818, the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of
the Treasury, submits this report to detail the Administration's
implementation of the Act in the 2023 reporting period.
In 2023, the United States took significant action under the Global
Magnitsky sanctions program (``Global Magnitsky''), sanctioning 78
foreign persons over the course of the year. As of December 2023, the
United States has sanctioned over 650 foreign persons (individuals and
entities) pursuant to E.O. 13818 since 2017. This sanctions program,
which targets those connected to serious human rights abuse, corrupt
actors, and their enablers, represents the best of the United States'
values and enduring commitment to promoting respect for human rights
and combatting corruption around the world. Through Global Magnitsky,
the United States has sought to disrupt and deter serious human rights
abuse and corruption abroad; promote accountability for those who act
with impunity; and maintain U.S. global leadership on anti-corruption
and human rights promotion in coordination with U.S. partners, allies,
and civil society where appropriate. The Administration can and will
continue to utilize this tool to promote respect for human rights and
the rule of law globally.
As the President outlined in the National Security Strategy (NSS),
the United States will stand with our allies and partners to combat new
threats confronting our democracies. The Administration will take
special aim at countering corruption, which corrodes democracy from the
inside, erodes government stability, impedes economic development, and
is increasingly weaponized by authoritarian states to undermine
democratic institutions. The United States also seeks to promote
respect for human rights; address discrimination, inequity, and
marginalization in all its forms; and stand up for democracy, the rule
of law, and human dignity. On all these issues, the United States works
to forge a common approach with likeminded countries. Through
implementation of the Global Magnitsky sanctions program, the
Administration is taking action to execute the President's vision as
described in the NSS.
Global Magnitsky, paired with cooperation with likeminded
international partners, directly addresses the objectives outlined in
the 2021 United States Strategy on Countering Corruption (``the
strategy''), which underscores the fight against corruption as a
national security priority. The strategy directs U.S. government action
to: strengthen efforts to hold accountable corrupt individuals and
their facilitators, including by, where appropriate, identifying,
freezing, and recovering stolen assets through sanctions or other
authorities; bolster the capacity of domestic and international
institutions and multilateral bodies focused on establishing global
anti-corruption norms; and work with international partners to
counteract strategic corruption by foreign leaders, foreign state-owned
or affiliated enterprises, and other foreign actors and their domestic
collaborators.
The strategy spotlights the Global Magnitsky sanctions program
among the U.S. Government's foreign policy tools for promoting global
accountability for serious human rights abuse and corruption through
the imposition of financial sanctions on foreign persons.
Actions taken in 2023 continue to demonstrate the reach,
flexibility, and broad scope of Global Magnitsky. The United States
responded to serious human rights abuse and corruption
[[Page 13796]]
globally, deterring and disrupting some of the most egregious behavior
by foreign actors. Actions taken in 2023 targeted, among others,
corrupt politicians undermining the rule of law in Paraguay, Guatemala,
Bulgaria, and Haiti and serious human rights abuse involving Russia's
treatment of human rights defender, prominent opposition leader,
author, and historian Vladimir Kara-Murza as well as abductions and
sexual violence committed by Haitian gangs and their leaders. Actions
against Paraguayan and former Afghan government officials highlighted
the U.S. Government's ongoing effort to disrupt pervasive corruption
and illicit financial networks in their most entrenched forms and at
the highest level of public office.
When considering financial sanctions under Global Magnitsky, the
United States prioritizes actions that are expected to produce a
tangible and significant impact on corrupt actors, serious human rights
abusers, and their affiliates, and prompt changes in behavior or
disrupt the activities of malign actors. Sanctions under Global
Magnitsky aim to target systemic corruption and human rights abuse,
including the networks that engage in, facilitate, or perpetuate
sustained patterns of such illicit behavior. Persons sanctioned
pursuant to this authority appear on the Office of Foreign Assets
Control's (OFAC's) List of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked
Persons (SDN List). As a result of these actions, all property and
interests in property of the sanctioned persons that are in the United
States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons are blocked and
must be reported to OFAC. Unless authorized by a general or specific
license issued by OFAC or otherwise exempt, OFAC's regulations
generally prohibit all transactions by U.S. persons or within (or
transiting) the United States that involve any property or interests in
property of designated or otherwise blocked persons. The prohibitions
include the making of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or
services by, to, or for the benefit of any blocked person or the
receipt of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services
from any such person.
In 2023, the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the
Secretary of State and the Attorney General, imposed economic sanctions
on the following 78 foreign persons (individuals and entities) pursuant
to E.O. 13818:
Afghanistan
Fariduddin Mahmood: Mahmood was designated on December 8,
2023, for being a foreign person who is responsible for, or complicit
in--or has directly or indirectly engaged in--serious human rights
abuses involving the restriction of access to all secondary education
for women and girls in Afghanistan, solely on the basis of gender,
which interferes with their enjoyment of equal protection. Mahmood is a
member of the Taliban's so-called ``cabinet'' that made decisions to
close education centers and schools to women and girls after the sixth
grade. He serves as the so-called ``head of the Afghanistan Academy of
Sciences'' and supported the education-related bans on women and girls.
Khalid Hanafi: Hanafi was designated on December 8, 2023,
for being a foreign person who is, or has been, a leader or official of
an entity, including any government entity, that has engaged in, or
whose members have engaged in, serious human rights abuse relating to
the leader's or official's tenure. Hanafi serves as the Taliban's so-
called ``Minister'' for the so-called ``Ministry for the Propagation of
Virtue and Prevention of Vice'' (MPVPV). Since August 2021, members of
the so-called MPVPV have engaged in serious human rights abuse,
including killings, abductions, whippings, and beatings. Members of the
so-called MPVPV have assaulted people protesting the restrictions on
women's activity, including access to education.
Mir Rahman Rahmani and Ajmal Rahmani: Mir Rahmani and
Ajmal Rahmani, collectively ``the Rahmanis,'' were designated on
December 11, 2023, for being government officials, or persons acting
for or on behalf of such an official, who are responsible for or
complicit in, or have directly or indirectly engaged in, corruption,
including the misappropriation of state assets, the expropriation of
private assets for personal gain, corruption related to government
contracts or the extraction of natural resources, or bribery. The
Rahmanis engaged in corruption related to government contracts
involving the import and delivery of fuel, contract inflation, import
tax fraud, fuel theft, and parliamentary corruption.
[cir] On December 11, 2023, 41 entities were designated for being
owned or controlled by, or having acted or purported to act for or on
behalf of, directly or indirectly, Ajmal Rahmani:
[squ] 21 German companies: Ozean Immobilien Projektentwicklung
Verwaltungs- GmbH, Ozean Immobilien Management GmbH & Co. KG, Ozean
Immobilien Projektentwicklung GmbH & Co. KG, Pyramaxia Immoprojekt GmbH
& Co. KG, Pyramaxia Real Estate Development GmbH & Co. KG, Pyramaxia
Real Estate GmbH & Co. KG, Ozean Group GmbH, Ozean Baustoffe GmbH & Co.
KG, Ozean Horizont Baumaschinen & Bauequipment GmbH & Co. KG, Ozean
Horizont Bauwerke GmbH, Ozean Horizont Erdarbeiten GmbH & Co. KG, Ozean
Horizont Objektplanung GmbH & Co. KG, Ozean Horizont
Projektentwicklungs GmbH & Co. KG, Ozean Horizont Spezialtiefbau GmbH &
Co. KG, RG Immoprojekt GmbH & Co. KG, RG Real Estate Development GmbH &
Co. KG, RG Real Estate GmbH & Co. KG, NAI Energy Europe GmbH & Co. KG,
NAI Energy Europe Verwaltungs GmbH, NAI Europe Energy GmbH & Co. KG,
and NAI Management GmbH
[squ] Eight Cypriot companies: Pyramaxia Limited, RG Holdings Limited,
NAI Logistics Limited, Buoyant Holdings Limited, Ocean Europe CY
Limited, DCH. Dream Creators Holdings LTD, Riseonic Holdings LTD, and
ZEM Holdings LTD
[squ] Six Emirati companies: RG Group FZE, The Fern Limited, Ascent
Holdings LTD, Orbit International FZE, Ocean Estate Company Limited,
and Rahmani Group International JLT
[squ] Two Afghan companies: Fidelis Logistic and Supply Services and
Secure Movement Logistics Services
[squ] Two Austrian companies: Ocean Estate GmbH and Ocean Properties
GmbH
[squ] One Dutch company: NAI Logistics B.V.
[squ] One Bulgarian company: Lego Investments EOOD
[cir] Additionally, the following two German companies were
designated for being owned or controlled by, or for having acted or
purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, Ocean
Properties GmbH: Ozean Development Real Estate GmbH & Co. KG and Ozean
Real Estate GmbH & Co. KG.
[cir] The following Dutch company was designated for being owned or
controlled by, or for having acted or purported to act for or on behalf
of, directly or indirectly, RZ Group FZE: AlphaOne Pharmaceutical B.V.
Bulgaria
Rumen Stoyanov Ovcharov: Ovcharov was designated on
February 10, 2023, for being a foreign person who is a current or
former government official, or a person acting for or on behalf of such
an official, who is responsible for or complicit in, or has directly or
indirectly engaged in,
[[Page 13797]]
corruption, including the misappropriation of state assets, the
expropriation of private assets for personal gain, corruption related
to government contracts or the extraction of natural resources, or
bribery. Ovcharov is a former Minister of Energy and Economy, Bulgarian
member of parliament (MP), and current member of the Bulgarian
Socialist Party (BSP) National Council. Ovcharov repeatedly engaged in
corrupt energy contracts with Russian energy companies, receiving
bribes and other kickbacks in exchange for fixed-price contracts for
Russian gas and nuclear fuel and support contracts at the Kozloduy
Nuclear Power Plant (KNPP). Russian-based nuclear fuel contracts
negotiated by Ovcharov proxies overcharged KNPP up to [euro]50 million,
resulting in tens of millions in ill-gotten profits for participants.
Aleksandar Hristov Nikolov: Nikolov was designated on
February 10, 2023, for being a foreign person who is a current or
former government official, or a person acting for or on behalf of such
an official, who is responsible for or complicit in, or has directly or
indirectly engaged in, corruption, including the misappropriation of
state assets, the expropriation of private assets for personal gain,
corruption related to government contracts or the extraction of natural
resources, or bribery. Nikolov is a former CEO and deputy director of
KNPP. Nikolov, Ovcharov, and Ivan Kirov Genov coordinated personal
commissions by corruptly diverting service contracts for KNPP to their
own business interests, avoiding scrutiny from Bulgarian officials
through offshore management. Nikolov and Genov agreed to accept five
million Bulgarian leva in bribes from foreign nuclear power executives
in exchange for guarantees of KNPP contracts.
Ivan Kirov Genov: Genov was designated on February 10,
2023, for being a foreign person who is a current or former government
official who is responsible for or complicit in, or who has directly or
indirectly engaged in corruption, including the misappropriation of
state assets, the expropriation of private assets for personal gain,
corruption related to government contracts or the extraction of natural
resources, or bribery. Genov is a former CEO of KNPP and was a
Bulgarian MP with the BSP from 2017 to 2019. Genov, Nikolov, and
Ovcharov coordinated personal commissions by corruptly diverting
service contracts for KNPP to their own business interests, avoiding
scrutiny from Bulgarian officials through offshore management. Genov
and Nikolov agreed to accept five million Bulgarian leva in bribes from
foreign nuclear power executives in exchange for guarantees of KNPP
contracts. Even after exiting his position as Executive Director of
KNPP, Genov solicited three million Bulgarian leva in bribes from
Bulgarian business executives to facilitate the reconsideration of KNPP
contract awards to benefit their companies.
Nikolay Simeonov Malinov: Malinov was designated on
February 10, 2023, for being a foreign person who is a current or
former government official, or a person acting for or on behalf of such
an official, who is responsible for or complicit in, or has directly or
indirectly engaged in, corruption, including the misappropriation of
state assets, the expropriation of private assets for personal gain,
corruption related to government contracts or the extraction of natural
resources, or bribery. Malinov is a former MP from the BSP and leader
of the pro-Russian lobby group Russophiles National Movement. After he
was arrested and charged with espionage for spying for Russian-backed
interests and barred from international travel in September 2019,
Malinov bribed a Bulgarian judge to allow him to travel to Russia to
personally receive the Friendship Medal from Russian President Vladimir
Putin.
Inter Trade 2021 EOOD, MS Konsult 2016 EOOD, Russophiles
National Movement, Russophiles for the Revival of the Fatherland
Political Party: These entities were designated on February 10, 2023,
for being owned or controlled by, directly or indirectly, Malinov.
Vladislov Ivanov Goranov: Goranov was designated on
February 10, 2023, for being a foreign person who is a current or
former government official, or a person acting for or on behalf of such
an official, who is responsible for or complicit in, or has directly or
indirectly engaged in, corruption, including the misappropriation of
state assets, the expropriation of private assets for personal gain,
corruption related to government contracts or the extraction of natural
resources, or bribery. Goranov served as a Bulgarian MP and was
Minister of Finance in the second and third administrations led by the
Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria (GERB) political party
until 2020. As Minister of Finance, Goranov participated in a
corruption scheme that resulted in tens of millions of euros paid to
Bulgarian officials in exchange for favorable legislation for
interested parties involved in the gambling industry.
Trilemma Consulting Ltd EOOD: This entity was designated
on February 10, 2023, for being owned or controlled by, directly or
indirectly, Goranov. Trilemma Consulting Ltd EOOD is a sole
proprietorship consulting company.
Guatemala
Luis Miguel Martinez Morales: Martinez was designated on
December 1, 2023, for being a foreign person who is a current or former
government official, or person acting for or on behalf of such an
official, who is responsible for or complicit in, or who has directly
or indirectly engaged in, corruption, including the misappropriation of
state assets, the expropriation of private assets for personal gain,
corruption related to government contracts or the extraction of natural
resources, or bribery. Martinez is the former head of the now-defunct
Centro de Gobierno. Martinez has influenced the government contracts
process to benefit himself and close associates. Martinez colluded with
other Guatemalan government officials to illegally award contracts to
favored bidders outside of Guatecompras, the Guatemalan government's
formal procurement system. Martinez and his conspirators used
antiquated procurement law to forego the bidding process and secure
government contracts for companies in which he has a financial
interest.
Haiti
Gary Bodeau: Bodeau was designated on April 5, 2023, for
being a foreign person who is a current or former government official,
or a person acting for or on behalf of such an official, who is
responsible for or complicit in, or has directly or indirectly engaged
in, corruption, including the misappropriation of state assets, the
expropriation of private assets for personal gain, corruption related
to government contracts or the extraction of natural resources, or
bribery. Bodeau is the former President of the Haitian Chamber of
Deputies. Bodeau was involved in several corrupt schemes wherein he
engaged in efforts to influence the outcome of Haitian political
appointments, including facilitating and soliciting bribes worth
millions of dollars. In 2018, Bodeau paid Haitian officials to secure
their votes while seeking ministerial position appointments. He also
solicited a large bribery payment worth hundreds of thousands of
dollars from senior government officials in exchange for his political
support. In 2019, Bodeau offered to deliver a successful vote in the
Chamber of Deputies for a prospective ministerial appointee in
[[Page 13798]]
exchange for millions of dollars paid out through individual payments
to members of the Chamber of Deputies.
Johnson Andr[eacute], Renel Destina, Vitel'homme Innocent,
and Wilson Joseph: Andr[eacute], Destina, Innocent, and Joseph were
each designated on December 8, 2023 for being a foreign person who is
responsible for or complicit in, or has directly or indirectly engaged
in, serious human rights abuse and for being a foreign person who is or
has been a leader or official of an entity, including any government
entity, that has engaged in, or whose members have engaged in, serious
human rights abuse relating to the leader's or official's tenure in
their roles as leaders of criminal gangs in Haiti. Respectively,
Andr[eacute], Destina, Innocent, and Joseph are the leaders of four
criminal gangs: 5 Segond, Grand Ravine, Kraze Bary[eacute], and 400
Mawozo. Innocent and Joseph have both been indicted by the U.S.
Department of Justice for their role in the armed kidnapping of U.S.
citizens in Haiti. Andr[eacute] and his gang have been identified by
survivors as being directly responsible for 1,035 documented cases of
sexual violence in 2022 alone. Destina, who is a key ally of
Andr[eacute], has committed kidnappings as well as killings, robberies,
rapes, looting and burning of residences, and continuous attacks
against Haitian police officers.
Liberia
Jefferson Koijee: Koijee was designated on December 8,
2023, for being a foreign person who is responsible for or complicit
in, or who has directly or indirectly engaged in, serious human rights
abuse and for being a foreign person who is a current or former
government official, or a person acting for or on behalf of such an
official, who is responsible for or complicit in, or who has directly
or indirectly engaged in, corruption, including the misappropriation of
state assets, the expropriation of private assets for personal gain,
corruption related to government contracts or the extraction of natural
resources, or bribery. Koijee and his supporters have been involved in
violence in connection with: an opposition rally in July 2022, students
attending a memorial service for former Liberian president Amos Sawyer
in March 2022, an anti-rape protest in August 2020, a student
graduation ceremony in December 2019, and an opposition rally in
November 2018. Koijee has also engaged in corrupt acts, including
bribery and misappropriation of state assets for use by private
political movements and pressuring anti-corruption investigators to
halt corruption investigations.
Paraguay
Horacio Manuel Cartes Jara: Cartes was designated on
January 26, 2023, for being a foreign person who is a current or former
government official, or a person acting for or on behalf of such an
official, who is responsible for or complicit in, or has directly or
indirectly engaged in corruption, including the misappropriation of
state assets, the expropriation of private assets for personal gain,
corruption related to government contracts or the extraction of natural
resources, or bribery. Former Paraguayan president Cartes engaged in
corruption before, during, and after his term as President of Paraguay.
Cartes paid party members up to $10,000 each to support his candidacy
ahead of the 2013 elections. While President of Paraguay, Cartes
continued his corrupt schemes, including making cash payments to
officials in exchange for their loyalty and support. He maintained his
grip on policymaking through monthly cash bribes paid out to loyal
legislators; payments ranged from $5,000 to $50,000 per member. Cartes
continued to influence legislative activities after leaving office,
targeting political opponents, and bribing legislators to direct votes
in his interest, with top supporters receiving as much as $50,000
monthly.
Hugo Adalberto Velazquez Moreno: Velazquez was designated
on January 26, 2023, for being a foreign person who is a current or
former government official, or a person acting for or on behalf of such
an official, who has engaged in, corruption, including the
misappropriation of state assets, the expropriation of private assets
for personal gain, corruption related to government contracts or the
extraction of natural resources, or bribery. Then-Paraguayan Vice
President Velazquez interfered in legal processes to protect himself
and criminal associates from criminal investigations, including by
bribing and threatening those who would expose his criminal activity.
Tabacos USA Inc., Bebidas USA Inc., Dominicana Acquisition
S.A., Frigorifico Chajha S.A.E.: These entities were designated on
January 26, 2023, for being owned or controlled by Cartes.
Tabacalera Del Este S.A. (Tabesa): On March 31, 2023, OFAC
identified Tabesa as an entity that is owned, directly or indirectly,
50 percent or more by Cartes and added Tabesa to the SDN List.
People's Republic of China
Gao Qi: Gao was designated on December 8, 2023, for being
a foreign person who is or has been a leader or official of the
Xinjiang Public Security Bureau (XPSB), an entity, including any
government entity, that has engaged in, or whose members have engaged
in, serious human rights abuse relating to his tenure. OFAC designated
the XPSB on July 9, 2020, for being a foreign person responsible for,
or complicit in, or that has directly or indirectly engaged in, serious
human rights abuse. Gao was concurrently sanctioned under the Uyghur
Human Rights Policy Act.
Hu Lianhe: Hu was designated on December 8, 2023, for
being a foreign person who is or has been a leader or official of an
entity, including any government entity, that has engaged in, or whose
members have engaged in, any of the activities described in subsection
(ii)(A) of Section 1(a) of E.O. 13818. Hu has served as the Deputy
Office Director for the Xinjiang Work Coordination Small Group of the
Central Committee since 2012. The XWCSG engaged in direct and close
involvement in the PRC's March 2017 Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region
``De-Extremification Regulation,'' and its October 2018 revision, which
provided the framework for Xinjiang's ``de-extremification'' through
re-education campaign.
Russia
Andrei Andreevich Zadachin: Zadachin was designated on
March 3, 2023, for being a foreign person who is responsible for or
complicit in, or has directly or indirectly engaged in, serious human
rights abuse. Zadachin is a Special Investigator assigned to the Chief
Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian
Federation. Zadachin ordered that a criminal case be initiated against
Vladimir Kara-Murza based on his speech before the Arizona House of
Representatives. Zadachin requested that detention be ordered as a pre-
trial restraint for Kara-Murza and defended this request in court.
Danila Yurievich Mikheev: Mikheev was designated on March
3, 2023, or being a foreign person who has materially assisted,
sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support
for, or goods or services to or in support of, serious human rights
abuse that is conducted by a foreign person. Mikheev is a Russian
Federation national who served as an expert witness for the Russian
government on the case against Kara-Murza, reviewing video of Kara-
Murza's
[[Page 13799]]
speech and providing a report that served as part of the basis on which
Elena Anatolievna Lenskaya ordered Kara-Murza be held.
Elena Anatolievna Lenskaya: Lenskaya was designated on
March 3, 2023, for being a foreign person who is responsible for or
complicit in, or has directly or indirectly engaged in, serious human
rights abuse. Lenskaya is a judge of the Basmannyy District Court in
Moscow who oversaw Kara-Murza's pre-trial detention hearing. Lenskaya
ordered that Kara-Murza be held in pre-trial detention on charges based
on his exercising the right to freedom of expression.
Uganda
Johnson Byabashaija: Byabashaija was designated on
December 8, 2023, for being a foreign person who is or has been a
leader or official of an entity, including any government entity, that
has engaged in, or whose members have engaged in, serious human rights
abuse relating to the leader's or official's tenure. Byabashaija has
served as Commissioner General of the Uganda Prisons Service (UPS)
since 2005. During that period, members of the UPS have engaged in
serious human rights abuse against prisoners held within UPS
facilities. Prisoners have reported being tortured and beaten by UPS
staff and by fellow prisoners at the direction of UPS staff. Members of
vulnerable groups, including government critics and members of Uganda's
LGBTQI+ community, have been beaten.
Visa Restrictions Imposed
Persons designated pursuant to E.O. 13818 are subject to the entry
restrictions articulated in section 2, unless an exception applies.
Section 2 provides that the entry of persons designated under section 1
of the order is suspended pursuant to Presidential Proclamation 8693.
In 2023, the Department took steps to impose visa restrictions,
when appropriate, on foreign persons involved in certain human rights
violations and significant corruption pursuant to other authorities,
including Presidential Proclamations 7750 and 8697, and Section 7031(c)
of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs
Appropriations Act. The Department will continue to identify
individuals subject to those authorities as appropriate, including but
not limited to individuals designated under Global Magnitsky. In
addition, the Department continues to implement all grounds of
inadmissibility in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), including
INA section 212(a)(3)(E) which renders applicants ineligible for visas
if a consular officer has reason to believe that they participated in
acts of genocide, torture, or extrajudicial killings.
Efforts To Encourage Governments of Other Countries To Impose Sanctions
Similar to Those Authorized by the Act
The United States recognizes that our sanctions are most impactful
when implemented in coordination with our foreign partners. In 2023,
the Administration continued its successful outreach campaign to
international partners regarding the expansion and use of domestic and
multilateral anticorruption and human rights sanctions regimes. Over
the course of the reporting period, the Administration coordinated with
likeminded partners in pursuing coordinated actions against human
rights abusers and corrupt actors, particularly in the run up to annual
International Anti-Corruption Day and Human Rights Day. The United
States took its Human Rights Day actions in concert with the United
Kingdom and Canada, each of which took similar measures to deter human
rights abuse globally. Of note, in coordination with partners on the
United Nations Security Council, the United States co-sponsored the
designation by the Security Council of four Haitian gang leaders,
consistent with the Presidential Memorandum on Conflict-Related Sexual
Violence and underscoring the Administration's commitment to
recognizing abhorrent abuse and promoting accountability for serious
human rights abusers.
Though not concurrent with U.S. actions, the United Kingdom,
Canada, European Union (EU), and Australia all took action against
individuals in Russia connected to serious human rights abuse, namely
the arbitrary detention of Russian pro-democracy activist Vladimir
Kara-Murza. Additionally, the United States designated Gary Bodeau in
April 2023, an individual previously designated by Canada under its
Special Economic Measure for Haiti authority in November 2022. On the
same day that the United States announced a second round of corruption
sanctions in Bulgaria, the United Kingdom, together with U.S.
government officials in Sofia, announced its designation of three
corrupt Bulgarian actors for serious corruption and abuse of public
institution funds under its Global Anti-Corruption and Global Human
Rights regimes. The UK designations reinforced prior U.S. designations
of these individuals under Global Magnitsky on June 2, 2021: Vassil
Kroumov Bojkov, Delyan Slavchev Peevski, and Ilko Dimitrov Zhelyazkov.
Similarly, in May 2023, the EU designated seven Moldovan individuals
for undermining or threatening the sovereignty of Moldova, including
Vladimir Plahotniuc, who was previously designated by the United States
in October 2022 and by the United Kingdom in December 2022. In May
2023, Canada designated seven individuals, including Plahotniuc. In
October 2023, Canada imposed sanctions on nine additional individuals
associated with Plahotniuc. On December 8, 2023, the United States
designated two Afghan individuals, including Khalid Hanafi, the
Taliban's so-called ``Minister'' for the so-called ``Ministry for the
Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice'' (MPVPV) for serious
human rights abuse related to the repression of women and girls,
including through the restriction of access to secondary education for
women and girls in Afghanistan solely on the basis of gender. The EU
took similar action under its Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime on
July 20, 2023, imposing restrictive measures on two of the Taliban's
so-called ``acting Ministers''--including Hanafi--for their role in
``depriving Afghan girls and women of their right to education, access
to justice and equal treatment between men and women.''
The United States is closely following the potential development of
an EU anti-corruption sanctions authority and stands ready to support
EU efforts by sharing insights and offering technical support,
including regarding evidence collection, addressing legal challenges,
and evidentiary requirements. The Administration will continue to seek
out additional allies and partners, including civil society, to
leverage all tools at our disposal to deny access to the United States'
and international financial systems and deny entry to the United States
to all those who engage in serious human rights abuse and corruption.
Andrew H. Self,
Foreign Affairs Officer, Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs,
Department of State.
[FR Doc. 2024-03532 Filed 2-22-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4710-AE-P
