[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 209 (Tuesday, October 31, 2017)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 50313-50315]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-23433]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Office of Foreign Assets Control

31 CFR Part 594


Global Terrorism Sanctions Regulations

AGENCY: Office of Foreign Assets Control, Treasury.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets 
Control (OFAC) is amending the Global Terrorism Sanctions Regulations 
pursuant to a provision of the Countering America's Adversaries Through 
Sanctions Act of 2017. This provision requires the imposition of 
certain terrorism-related sanctions with respect to foreign persons 
that are officials, agents, or affiliates of Iran's Islamic 
Revolutionary Guard Corps.

DATES: Effective: October 31, 2017.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The Department of the Treasury's 
Office of Foreign Assets Control: Assistant Director for Licensing, 
tel.: 202-622-2480, Assistant Director for Regulatory Affairs, tel.: 
202-622-4855, Assistant Director for Sanctions Compliance & Evaluation, 
tel.: 202-622-2490; or the Department of the Treasury's Office of the 
Chief Counsel (Foreign Assets Control), Office of the General Counsel, 
tel.: 202-622-2410.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Electronic Availability

    This document and additional information concerning OFAC are 
available from OFAC's Web site (www.treasury.gov/ofac).

Background

    On June 6, 2003, OFAC issued the Global Terrorism Sanctions 
Regulations, 31 CFR part 594 (the ``Regulations'') (68 FR 34196, June 
6, 2003), to implement Executive Order 13224 of September 23, 2001 (66 
FR 49079, September 25, 2001) (E.O. 13224). OFAC has amended the 
Regulations on several occasions. Today, OFAC is amending the 
Regulations pursuant to section 105 of the Countering America's 
Adversaries Through Sanctions Act of 2017, Public Law 115-44, Aug. 2, 
2017, 131 Stat. 886 (22 U.S.C. 9401 et seq.) (CAATSA).
    CAATSA. The President signed CAATSA into law on August 2, 2017. 
Section 105 of CAATSA requires the President to impose the sanctions 
applicable with respect to a foreign person pursuant to E.O. 13224 on 
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and foreign persons 
that are officials, agents, or affiliates of the IRGC. Such sanctions 
must be imposed beginning on the date that is 90 days after enactment 
of CAATSA, which is October 31, 2017. Section 111(b) of CAATSA provides 
that the President may exercise all authorities provided under sections 
203 and 205 of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 
U.S.C. 1702 and 1704) to carry out the purposes of CAATSA.
    Pursuant to Presidential Memorandum of October 11, 2017: Delegation 
of Certain Functions and Authorities under the Countering America's 
Adversaries Through Sanctions Act of 2017, the President delegated to 
the Secretary of State and the Secretary of the Treasury the functions 
and authorities vested in the President by section 105(b) of CAATSA

[[Page 50314]]

to be exercised in consultation with each other and commensurate with 
their respective areas of responsibility set forth in previous 
Presidential actions under the International Emergency Economic Powers 
Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), including E.O. 13224, and the functions 
and authorities set forth in section 111(b) of CAATSA to be exercised 
commensurate with their respective areas of responsibility set forth in 
the delegation memorandum.
    Sanctions applicable with respect to a foreign person pursuant to 
E.O. 13224. E.O. 13224 blocks and prohibits all transactions in, with 
certain exceptions, all property and interests in property of foreign 
persons listed in the Annex to E.O. 13224 or persons designated 
pursuant to criteria set forth in that order by the Secretary of State 
or the Secretary of the Treasury. On October 13, 2017, OFAC designated 
the IRGC pursuant to E.O. 13224 and consistent with the CAATSA for its 
activities in support of the IRGC-Qods Force (82 FR 48591, October 18, 
2017), which was designated pursuant to E.O. 13224 on October 25, 2007 
(72 FR 65837, November 23, 2007).
    Regulatory action. OFAC is taking this regulatory action pursuant 
to section 105(b) of CAATSA to extend the sanctions applicable pursuant 
to E.O. 13224 to foreign persons that are officials, agents, or 
affiliates of the IRGC. Subpart B of the Regulations currently 
implements the prohibitions contained in E.O. 13224. See, e.g., 
Sec. Sec.  594.201 and 594.204. With this rule, OFAC is adding Sec.  
594.201(a)(5) to Subpart B of the Regulations to include the following 
as persons whose property and interests in property are blocked 
pursuant to the Regulations: Foreign persons that are identified on the 
Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List (SDN List) 
maintained by OFAC as officials, agents, or affiliates of the IRGC.
    The names of persons whose property and interests in property are 
blocked pursuant to Sec.  594.201(a) are published in the Federal 
Register and incorporated into OFAC's SDN List with the identifier 
``[SDGT].'' Persons who have been identified by OFAC as officials, 
agents, or affiliates of the IRGC are identified by a special reference 
to the ``IRGC'' at the end of their entries on the SDN List, in 
addition to the reference to this part. For example, an affiliate of 
the IRGC whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant 
to this part will have the program tags ``[SDGT][IRGC]'' at the end of 
its entry on the SDN List. In addition, OFAC is amending the delegation 
provision in Sec.  594.802.

Public Participation

    Because the Regulations involve a foreign affairs function, the 
provisions of Executive Order 12866 and the Administrative Procedure 
Act (5 U.S.C. 553) requiring notice of proposed rulemaking, opportunity 
for public participation, and delay in effective date, as well as the 
provisions of Executive Order 13771, are inapplicable. Because no 
notice of proposed rulemaking is required for this rule, the Regulatory 
Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601-612) does not apply.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    The collections of information related to the Regulations are 
contained in 31 CFR part 501 (the ``Reporting, Procedures and Penalties 
Regulations''). Pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 
U.S.C. 3507), those collections of information have been approved by 
the Office of Management and Budget under control number 1505-0164. An 
agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to 
respond to, a collection of information unless the collection of 
information displays a valid control number.

List of Subjects in 31 CFR Part 594

    Administrative practice and procedure, Banks, Banking, Blocking of 
assets, Credit, Penalties, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, 
Terrorism.

    For the reasons set forth in the preamble, the Department of the 
Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control amends part 31 CFR part 594 
to read as follows:

PART 594--GLOBAL TERRORISM SANCTIONS REGULATIONS

0
1. The authority citation for part 594 is revised to read as follows:

    Authority:  3 U.S.C. 301; 22 U.S.C. 287c; 31 U.S.C. 321(b); 50 
U.S.C. 1601-1651, 1701-1706; Pub. L. 101-410, 104 Stat. 890 (28 
U.S.C. 2461 note); Pub. L. 110-96, 121 Stat. 1011; Pub. L. 115-44, 
131 Stat. 886 (22 U.S.C. 9401 et seq.), E.O. 13224, 66 FR 49079, 3 
CFR, 2001 Comp., p. 786; E.O. 13268, 67 FR 44751, 3 CFR, 2002 Comp., 
p. 240; E.O. 13284, 68 FR 4075, 3 CFR, 2003 Comp., p. 161; E.O. 
13372, 70 FR 8499, 3 CFR, 2006 Comp., p. 159.

Subpart B--Prohibitions

0
2. Remove the word ``or'' at the end of paragraph (a)(3); remove the 
period at the end of paragraph (a)(4)(ii) and add the text ``; or'' in 
its place; add new paragraph (a)(5); and revise Note 2 to paragraph (a) 
of Sec.  594.201 to read as follows:


Sec.  594.201  Prohibited transactions involving blocked property.

    (a) * * *
    (5) Foreign persons that are identified on the Specially Designated 
Nationals and Blocked Persons List (SDN List) maintained by the Office 
of Foreign Assets Control as officials, agents, or affiliates of Iran's 
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
* * * * *

    Note 2 to paragraph (a) of Sec.  594.201: The names of persons 
whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to 
Sec.  594.201(a) are published in the Federal Register and 
incorporated into the Office of Foreign Assets Control's SDN List 
with the identifier ``[SDGT].'' Persons who have been identified by 
the Office of Foreign Assets Control as officials, agents, or 
affiliates of the IRGC are identified by a special reference to the 
``IRGC'' at the end of their entries on the SDN List, in addition to 
the reference to this part. For example, an affiliate of the IRGC 
whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to 
this part will have the program tags ``[SDGT] [IRGC]'' at the end of 
its entry on the SDN List. The SDN List is accessible through the 
following page on the Office of Foreign Assets Control's Web site: 
http://www.treasury.gov/sdn. Additional information pertaining to 
the SDN List can be found in appendix A to this chapter. See Sec.  
594.412 concerning entities that may not be listed on the SDN List 
but whose property and interests in property are nevertheless 
blocked pursuant to paragraph (a) of this section.

* * * * *

Subpart H--Procedures

0
3. Revise Sec.  594.802 to read as follows:


Sec.  594.802  Delegation by the Secretary of the Treasury.

    Any action that the Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to take 
pursuant to Executive Order 13224 of September 23, 2001, and any 
further Executive orders relating to the national emergency declared 
therein, and any action that the Secretary of the Treasury is 
authorized to take pursuant to Presidential Memorandum of October 11, 
2017: Delegation of Certain Functions and Authorities under the 
Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act of 2017 or any 
further Presidential action relating to Title I of the Countering 
America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act of 2017 (Pub. L. 115-44), 
may be taken by the Director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control or 
by any other person to whom the Secretary of the Treasury has delegated 
authority so to act.


[[Page 50315]]


    Dated: October 23, 2017.
John E. Smith,
Director, Office of Foreign Assets Control.

    Dated: October 24, 2017.
Sigal P. Mandelker,
Under Secretary, Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, 
Department of the Treasury.
[FR Doc. 2017-23433 Filed 10-30-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4810-AL-P