Day: April 5, 2021

On 5 April, OFAC issued 2 new FAQ concerning the Syrian sanctions regime.  One was concerned with the interplay between the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act 2019 and activities that would be authorised under the Syrian Sanctions Regulations.  The other question was if US and non-US persons, including NGO and foreign financial institutions, can provide or facilitate certain humanitarian assistance to Syria without the risk of sanctions?  The answer, obviously, is yes.

https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/financial-sanctions/faqs/884

https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/financial-sanctions/faqs/885

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On 1 April, Homeland Security Today reported that the National Counterintelligence and Security Center (NCSC) and its partners in government and industry had launched the 4^th annual “National Supply Chain Integrity Month” with a call to action for organisations across the US to strengthen their supply chains against foreign adversaries and other potential risks.  The partners aim to raise awareness of threats to US supply chains and share information on risk mitigation.  A host of public and non-public events with stakeholders in government, industry, and academia are planned to enhance supply chain risk management efforts.  It is said that, alongside other usual problems (natural disaster, trade and labour disputes etc) actions by foreign adversaries to exploit vulnerabilities in US supply chains pose unique counterintelligence and security threats.  It is also said that adversaries are increasingly using companies and trusted suppliers as attack vectors against us for espionage, information theft, and sabotage.  The initiative suggests 5 basic principles to enhance the resilience of an organisation’s supply chains –

• diversify supply chains;
• mitigate third-party risks;
• identify and protect the “Crown Jewels”;
• ensure executive-level commitment; and
• strengthen partnerships (within industry and with the government).

https://www.hstoday.us/subject-matter-areas/infrastructure-security/ncsc-and-partners-launch-national-supply-chain-integrity-month-a-call-to-action-campaign-to-raise-awareness-of-supply-chain-threats-and-mitigation/

https://www.dni.gov/index.php/ncsc-newsroom/item/2200-ncsc-and-partners-launch-national-supply-chain-integrity-month-in-april-a-call-to-action-campaign-to-raise-awareness-of-supply-chain-threats-and-mitigation

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On 3 April, a feature in The Independent (with video) reported that a millionaire businessman killed in a plane crash led a double life financing an international drug ring, according to federal prosecutors.  It is claimed that Marty Tibbitts was CEO of telecommunications company Clementine Live Answering Service but was known as “Dale Johnson” in the drug trafficking world.  He died in a 2018 plane crash when the vintage fighter jet he was piloting crashed.  The allegations are contained in a federal indictment against Ylli Didani, the leader of the global drug smuggling ring that sold cocaine in 15 countries.  The death of Tibbitts is said to have scuppered the planned submarine and caused a financial crunch for the cartel, which was forced to allegedly find new funding in the UAE.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/cocaine-submarine-michigan-ceo-cartel-b1826236.html

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