OFAC issues advisory for China’s Xinjiang region

Financial Crimes OFAC Department of Treasury Of Interest to Non-US Persons Department of Homeland Security Department of Labor China OFAC Sanctions

On July 13, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), along with the Departments of State, Commerce, Homeland Security, and Labor, as well as the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, issued an updated advisory on the risks for businesses with possible exposure in their supply chain to entities involved in human rights abuses in the Xinjiang Region. The recent advisory updates the original version released in July 2020 (covered by InfoBytes here), which was issued after OFAC announced sanctions pursuant to Executive Order 13818 against a Chinese government entity and four current or former government officials for alleged corruption violations of the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act. The updated advisory outlines risks to be considered when “assessing business partnerships with, investing in, sourcing from, or providing other support to companies operating in Xinjiang, linked to Xinjiang, or with laborers from Xinjiang.”