It’s always an exciting day when the United States Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announces the removal of parties from their list of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN List). The reason for this excitement is because we never know when OFAC is going to remove one of our clients from the OFAC SDN List. Indeed, when OFAC decides to remove a party from the SDN List neither the party removed, nor their counsel, is notified ahead of time that the removal is coming. Generally, OFAC sends notice to counsel for the removed party of such removal 3-5 business days after the removal has publicly been announced.

Unfortunately, none of my clients were removed from the OFAC SDN List today. However, did elect to remove 21 Colombians from the OFAC SDN List who had been designated pursuant to the Foreign Narcotics Trafficking Kingpin Designation Act (Kingpin Act), and one Iranian designated pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13224 (Global Terrorism Sanctions) and the Iranian Financial Sanctions Regulations (IFSR), 31 C.F.R. Part 561. The one Iranian, and the numerous spellings of his name, removed was Hessam Khoshnevis. Khoshnevis was formerly an Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander, whose delisting probably had a lot to do with the fact that he was killed in combat in Syria by Syrian Rebels in February of this year.

It is unclear whether anyone filed a request for reconsideration based on Khoshnevis’ death, whether he was already contesting his designation, or whether OFAC merely removed him upon receiving information concerning his death. I think either the first or last scenario would be most likely. I can’t see an IRGC commander actively seeking his reconsideration. Moreover, there are plenty of departed individuals on the OFAC SDN List (e.g., Osama Bin Laden). I am unaware of any internal mechanism utilized by OFAC to review designations periodically to determine whether certain individuals should be removed from the OFAC SDN List or not. Regardless of how it happened Khoshnevis and 21 Colombians are now off of the OFAC SDN List. This goes to show that while OFAC designations far outpace OFAC removals, the fact is that the agency is still removing designations slowly but surely.

The author of this blog is Erich Ferrari, an attorney specializing in OFAC matters. If you have any questions please contact him at 202-280-6370 or ferrari@ferrariassociatespc.com.