OFAC blocks 10 entities for Cuban embargo violations

OFAC blocks 10 entities for Cuban embargo violations    The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control has identified 10 companies that OFAC has determined are owned or controlled by the government of Cuba or Cuban nationals, and blocked business dealings with all of them.
   “All property of these entities that is in the possession of persons subject to U.S. jurisdiction is blocked, and no persons subject to U.S. jurisdiction may engage in any transactions with these entities unless authorized by OFAC,” the Treasury Department said in a statement.
   The list includes one group that forwards gifts to Cuba and nine companies specializing in Cuban travel.
   OFAC’s action was taken “in furtherance of President Bush’s October 2003, initiative to strengthen the enforcement of U.S. laws prohibiting transactions related to travel to Cuba. The foreign travel companies identified provide easy access to Cuba to those U.S. individuals who choose to break the law,” the Treasury Department said.
   The nine blocked travel companies are Canada Inc., Montreal; Corporacion Cimex S.A., Havana; Havanatur S.A., Havana and its subsidiaries in Santiago, Chile, Nassau, the Bahamas, and Buenos Aires, Argentina; and the Cubanacan Group in Havana and its subsidiaries in Zevenhuizen, the Netherlands, and London.