Global Magntisky Human Rights Accountability Act Annual Report, 4950-4953 [2018-02070]
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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 23 / Friday, February 2, 2018 / Notices
Commission to designate a shorter time
if such action is consistent with the
protection of investors and the public
interest. The Exchange has asked the
Commission to waive the 30-day
operative delay so that the Exchange can
reorganize its Rulebook as already
approved by the Commission. The
Commission believes that waiver of the
30-day operative delay is consistent
with the protection of investors and the
public interest. Accordingly, the
Commission hereby waives the
operative delay and designates the
proposed rule change as operative upon
filing.13
At any time within 60 days of the
filing of the proposed rule change, the
Commission summarily may
temporarily suspend such rule change if
it appears to the Commission that such
action is: (i) Necessary or appropriate in
the public interest; (ii) for the protection
of investors; or (iii) otherwise in
furtherance of the purposes of the Act.
If the Commission takes such action, the
Commission shall institute proceedings
to determine whether the proposed rule
should be approved or disapproved.
with respect to the proposed rule
change that are filed with the
Commission, and all written
communications relating to the
proposed rule change between the
Commission and any person, other than
those that may be withheld from the
public in accordance with the
provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be
available for website viewing and
printing in the Commission’s Public
Reference Room, 100 F Street NE,
Washington, DC 20549, on official
business days between the hours of
10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Copies of the
filing also will be available for
inspection and copying at the principal
office of the Exchange. All comments
received will be posted without change.
Persons submitting comments are
cautioned that we do not redact or edit
personal identifying information from
comment submissions. You should
submit only information that you wish
to make available publicly. All
submissions should refer to File
Number SR–Phlx–2018–11 and should
be submitted on or before February 23,
2018.
IV. Solicitation of Comments
Interested persons are invited to
submit written data, views, and
arguments concerning the foregoing,
including whether the proposed rule
change is consistent with the Act.
Comments may be submitted by any of
the following methods:
For the Commission, by the Division of
Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated
authority.14
Eduardo A. Aleman,
Assistant Secretary.
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Electronic Comments
• Use the Commission’s internet
comment form (https://www.sec.gov/
rules/sro.shtml); or
• Send an email to rule-comments@
sec.gov. Please include File Number SR–
Phlx–2018–11 on the subject line.
Paper Comments
• Send paper comments in triplicate
to Secretary, Securities and Exchange
Commission, 100 F Street NE,
Washington, DC 20549–1090.
All submissions should refer to File
Number SR–Phlx–2018–11. This file
number should be included on the
subject line if email is used. To help the
Commission process and review your
comments more efficiently, please use
only one method. The Commission will
post all comments on the Commission’s
internet website (https://www.sec.gov/
rules/sro.shtml). Copies of the
submission, all subsequent
amendments, all written statements
13 For purposes only of waiving the 30-day
operative delay, the Commission has also
considered the proposed rule’s impact on
efficiency, competition, and capital formation. See
15 U.S.C. 78c(f).
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[FR Doc. 2018–02129 Filed 2–1–18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF STATE
[Public Notice: 10258]
Global Magntisky Human Rights
Accountability Act Annual Report
Department of State.
Notice.
AGENCY:
ACTION:
This notice contains the text
of the report, submitted by the President
required by the Global Magnitsky
Human Rights Accountability Act, as
submitted by the Secretary of State.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Benjamin A. Kraut, Email: Krautb@state
gov, Phone: (202) 647–9452.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On
December 21, 2017, The Secretary of
State approved the following report
pursuant to a delegation of authority
from the President under Executive
Order 13818. Executive Order 13818,
which implements the Global Magnitsky
Human Rights Accountability Act (Pub.
L. 114–328, Subtitle F), was issued by
the President on December 20, 2017
SUMMARY:
14 17
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with an effective date of December 21,
2017. The text of the report follows:
As required by Section 1264 of the
Global Magnitsky Human Rights
Accountability Act of 2016 (Pub. L.
114–328, Subtitle F) (the ‘‘Act’’), and in
accordance with the executive order
(E.O.) issued to implement the Act, the
Secretary of State, in consultation with
the Secretary of the Treasury, submits
this report to detail the Administration’s
implementation of the Act in 2017.
Enacted on December 23, 2016, the
Act authorizes the President to impose
financial sanctions and visa restrictions
on foreign persons responsible for acts
of corruption or certain human rights
violations. On December 20, 2017, the
President issued an executive order to
implement the Act. This executive order
authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury,
in consultation with the Secretary of
State and the Attorney General, to
impose financial sanctions on persons
determined to be directly or indirectly
responsible for serious human rights
abuse or acts of significant corruption.
The executive order also authorizes the
Secretary of State to impose visa
restrictions on persons designated
pursuant to the executive order.
The United States is committed to
protecting and promoting human rights
and combatting corruption around the
world. These efforts advance a world
order that reflects U.S. values and
increases the security of the United
States, its allies, and its partners. The
United States has led, and is uniquely
positioned to continue leading, the
international community in efforts to
combat human rights abuse and
corruption on the international stage.
Sanctions issued pursuant to the Act, as
implemented by the executive order, are
consistent with these longstanding
efforts.
The United States will, under the
executive order, pursue tangible and
significant consequences for those who
commit serious human rights abuse and
engage in corruption. This tool will be
used without hesitation to advance U.S.
interests in cases involving human
rights abusers or corrupt actors who are
beyond the reach of other U.S. sanctions
authorities, but whose designation
could have an impact on these and other
malign actors.
Financial Sanctions
Over the last year, various
departments and agencies of the United
States Government have actively
collected information from multiple
sources—including the Intelligence
Community, U.S. missions around the
world, non-governmental organizations,
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and Congress—to support sanctions
designations under the executive order.
In the executive order, the President
issued sanctions and visa restrictions on
several persons around the world for
human rights abuse or corruption.
Simultaneously, the Department of the
Treasury issued a number of
designations targeting individuals and
entities engaged in human rights abuse
or corruption or supporting those
sanctioned by the President. The Annex
and designations issued this year
pursuant to the executive order are
detailed below:
Yahya Jammeh: Yahya Jammeh
(Jammeh), the former President of The
Gambia who came to power in 1994 and
stepped down in 2017, has a long
history of engaging in serious human
rights abuses and corruption. Jammeh
created a terror and assassination squad
called the Junglers that answered
directly to him. Jammeh used the
Junglers to threaten, terrorize,
interrogate, and kill individuals whom
Jammeh assessed to be threats. During
Jammeh’s tenure, he ordered the
Junglers to kill a local religious leader,
journalists, members of the political
opposition, and former members of the
government, among others. Jammeh
used the Gambia’s National Intelligence
Agency (NIA) as a repressive tool of the
regime—torturing political opponents
and journalists. Throughout his
presidency, Jammeh routinely ordered
the abuse and murder of those he
suspected of undermining his authority.
During his tenure, Jammeh used a
number of corrupt schemes to plunder
The Gambia’s state coffers or otherwise
siphon off state funds for his personal
gain. Ongoing investigations continue to
reveal Jammeh’s large-scale theft from
state coffers prior to his departure.
According to The Gambia’s Justice
Ministry, Jammeh personally, or
through others acting under his
instructions, directed the unlawful
withdrawal of at least $50 million of
state funds. The Gambian Government
has since taken action to freeze
Jammeh’s assets within The Gambia.
Related to Jammeh’s designation, the
Department of the Treasury also
designated Africada Airways, Kanilai
Group International, Kanilai Worni
Family Farms Ltd, Royal Africa Capital
Holding Ltd, Africada Financial Service
& Bureau de Change Ltd, Africada
Micro-Finance Ltd, Africada Insurance
Company, Kora Media Corporation Ltd,
Atlantic Pelican Company Ltd, Palm
Grove Africa Dev’t Corp. Ltd, Patriot
Insurance Brokers Co. Ltd, and Royal
Africa Securities Brokerage Co Ltd.
Roberto Jose Rivas Reyes: As
President of Nicaragua’s Supreme
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Electoral Council, drawing a reported
government salary of $60,000 per year,
Roberto Jose Rivas Reyes (Rivas) has
been accused in the press of amassing
sizeable personal wealth, including
multiple properties, private jets, luxury
vehicles, and a yacht. Rivas has been
described by a Nicaraguan Comptroller
General as ‘‘above the law,’’ with
investigations into his corruption
having been blocked by Nicaraguan
government officials. He has also
perpetrated electoral fraud undermining
Nicaragua’s electoral institutions.
Dan Gertler: Dan Gertler (Gertler) is an
international businessman and
billionaire who amassed his fortune
through hundreds of millions of dollars’
worth of opaque and corrupt mining
and oil deals in the Democratic
Republic of the Congo (DRC). Gertler
has used his close friendship with DRC
President Joseph Kabila to act as a
middleman for mining asset sales in the
DRC, requiring some multinational
companies to go through Gertler to do
business with the Congolese state. As a
result, between 2010 and 2012 alone,
the DRC reportedly lost over $1.36
billion in revenues from the
underpricing of mining assets that were
sold to offshore companies linked to
Gertler. The failure of the DRC to
publish the full details of one of the
sales prompted the International
Monetary Fund to halt loans to the DRC
totaling $225 million. In 2013, Gertler
sold to the DRC government for $150
million the rights to an oil block that
Gertler purchased from the government
for just $500,000, a loss of $149.5
million in potential revenue. Gertler has
acted for or on behalf of Kabila, helping
Kabila organize offshore leasing
companies.
Related to Gertler’s designation, the
Department of the Treasury designated
Pieter Albert Deboutte, Fleurette
Properties Limited, Fleurette Holdings
Netherlands B.V., Gertler Family
Foundation, Oil of DR Congo SPRL,
Jarvis Congo SARL, International
Diamond Industries, D.G.D. Investments
Ltd., D.G.I. Israel Ltd, Proglan Capital
Ltd, Emaxon Finance International Inc.,
Africa Horizons Investment Limited,
Caprikat Limited, Foxwhelp Limited,
Caprikat and Foxwhelp SARL, Lora
Enterprises Limited, Zuppa Holdings
Limited, Orama Properties Ltd, DGI
Mining Ltd, and Rozaro Development
Limited.
Slobodan Tesic: Slobodan Tesic
(Tesic) is among the biggest dealers of
arms and munitions in the Balkans; he
spent nearly a decade on the United
Nations (UN) Travel Ban List for
violating UN sanctions against arms
exports to Liberia. In order to secure
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arms contracts with various countries,
Tesic would directly or indirectly
provide bribes and financial assistance
to officials. Tesic also took potential
clients on high-value vacations, paid for
their children’s education at western
schools or universities, and used large
bribes to secure contracts. Tesic owns or
controls two Serbian companies,
Partizan Tech and Technoglobal
Systems DOO Beograd, and two Cyprusbased companies Grawit Limited and
Charso Limited. Tesic negotiates the
sale of weapons via Charso Limited and
used Grawit Limited as a mechanism to
fund politicians.
Related to Tesic’s designation, the
Department of the Treasury designated
Preduzece Za Trgovinu Na Veliko I
Malo Partizan Tech DOO BeogradSavski Venac (‘‘Partizan Tech’’), Charso
Limited, Grawit Limited, and
Technoglobal Systems DOO Beograd.
Maung Maung Soe: In his former role
as chief of the Burmese Army’s Western
command, Maung Maung Soe oversaw
the military operation in Burma’s
Rakhine State responsible for
widespread human rights abuse against
Rohingya civilians in response to
attacks by the Arakan Rohingya
Salvation Army. The Secretary of State
determined on November 22 that the
situation in northern Rakhine state in
Burma constituted ethnic cleansing. The
United States Government examined
credible evidence of Maung Maung
Soe’s activities, including allegations
against Burmese security forces of
extrajudicial killings, sexual violence,
and arbitrary arrest as well as the
widespread burning of villages. Security
operations have led to hundreds of
thousands of Rohingya refugees fleeing
across Burma’s border with Bangladesh.
In August 2017, witnesses reportedly
described mass killings and arson
attacks by the Burmese Army and
Burmese Border Guard Police, both then
under Maung Maung Soe’s command in
northern Rakhine State. In August 2017,
soldiers described as being from the
Western Command allegedly entered a
village and reportedly separated the
inhabitants by gender. According to
witnesses, soldiers opened fire on the
men and older boys and committed
multiple acts of rape. Many of the
women and younger children were
reportedly also shot. Other witnesses
described soldiers setting huts on fire
with villagers inside.
Benjamin Bol Mel: Benjamin Bol Mel
(Bol Mel) is the President of ABMC
Thai-South Sudan Construction
Company Limited (ABMC), and has
served as the Chairman of the South
Sudan Chamber of Commerce, Industry,
and Agriculture. Bol Mel has also served
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as South Sudanese President Salva
Kiir’s principal financial advisor, has
been Kiir’s private secretary, and was
perceived within the government as
being close to Kiir and the local
business community. Several officials
were linked to ABMC in spite of a
constitutional prohibition on top
government officials transacting
commercial business or earning income
from outside the government.
Bol Mel oversees ABMC, which has
been awarded contracts worth tens of
millions of dollars by the Government of
South Sudan. ABMC allegedly received
preferential treatment from high-level
officials, and the Government of South
Sudan did not hold a competitive
process for selecting ABMC to do
roadwork on several roads in Juba and
throughout South Sudan. Although this
roadwork had been completed only a
few years before, the government
budgeted tens of millions of dollars
more for maintenance of the same roads.
Related to Bol Mel’s designation, the
Department of the Treasury designated
ABMC Thai-South Sudan Construction
Company Limited and Home and Away
LTD.
Mukhtar Hamid Shah: Mukhtar
Hamid Shah (Shah) is a Pakistani
surgeon specializing in kidney
transplants who Pakistani police believe
to be involved in kidnapping, wrongful
confinement, and the removal of and
trafficking in human organs. As an
owner of the Kidney Centre in
Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Shah was
involved in the kidnapping and
detention of, and removal of kidneys
from, Pakistani laborers. Shah was
arrested by Pakistani authorities in
connection with an October 2016
incident in which 24 individuals from
Punjab were found to be held against
their will. Impoverished and illiterate
Pakistanis from the countryside were
reportedly lured to Rawalpindi with the
promise of a job, and imprisoned for
weeks. Doctors from the Kidney Centre
were allegedly planning to steal their
kidneys in order to sell them for a large
profit. Police state that one of the
accused arrested in connection with the
events estimated that more than 400
people were imprisoned in the
apartment at various times.
Gulnara Karimova: Gulnara Karimova
(Karimova), daughter of former
Uzbekistan leader Islam Karimov,
headed a powerful organized crime
syndicate that leveraged state actors to
expropriate businesses, monopolize
markets, solicit bribes, and administer
extortion rackets. In July 2017, the
Uzbek Prosecutor General’s Office
charged Karimova with directly abetting
the criminal activities of an organized
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crime group whose assets were worth
over $1.3 billion. Karimova was also
charged with hiding foreign currency
through various means, including the
receipt of payoffs in the accounts of
offshore companies controlled by an
organized criminal group, the illegal
sale of radio frequencies and land
parcels, siphoning off state funds
through fraudulent dividend payments
and stock sales, the illegal removal of
cash, the non-collection of currency
earnings, and the import of goods at
inflated prices. Karimova was also
found guilty of embezzlement of state
funds, theft, tax evasion, and
concealment of documents. Karimova
laundered the proceeds of corruption
back to her own accounts through a
complex network of subsidiary
companies and segregated portfolio
funds. Karimova’s targeting of
successful businesses to maximize her
gains and enrich herself in some cases
destroyed Uzbek competitors. Due in
part to Karimova’s corrupt activities in
the telecom sector alone, Uzbeks paid
some of the highest rates in the world
for cellular service.
Angel Rondon Rijo: Angel Rondon
Rijo (Rondon) is a politically connected
businessman and lobbyist in the
Dominican Republic who funneled
money from Odebrecht, a Brazilian
construction company, to Dominican
officials, who in turn awarded
Odebrecht projects to build highways,
dams, and other projects. According to
the U.S. Department of Justice,
Odebrecht is a Brazil-based global
construction conglomerate that has pled
guilty to charges of conspiracy to violate
the anti-bribery provisions of the
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and
agreed to a criminal fine of $4.5 billion.
In 2017, Rondon was arrested by
Dominican authorities and charged with
corruption for the bribes paid by
Odebrecht.
Artem Chayka: Artem Chayka
(Chayka) is the son of the Prosecutor
General of the Russian Federation and
has leveraged his father’s position and
ability to award his subordinates to
unfairly win state-owned assets and
contracts and put pressure on business
competitors. In 2014, reconstruction of
a highway began, and Chayka’s
competitor for supplying materials to
the project suddenly fell under
prosecutorial scrutiny. An anonymous
complaint letter with a fake name
initiated a government investigation
against the competitor. Government
inspectors did not produce any
documents confirming the legality of the
inspections, and did not inform subjects
of the investigation of their rights.
Traffic police were deployed along the
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route to the competitor, weight control
stations were suddenly dispatched, and
trees were dug up and left to block
entrances. The competitor was forced to
shut down, leaving Chayka in a position
to non-competitively work on the
highway project. Also in 2014, Chayka
bid on a state-owned stone and gravel
company, and was awarded the
contract. His competitor contested the
results and filed a lawsuit. Prosecutors
thereafter raided his home. After
Chayka’s competitor withdrew the
lawsuit, prosecutors dropped all
charges.
Gao Yan: Gao Yan (Gao) was the
Beijing Public Security Bureau
Chaoyang Branch director. During Gao’s
tenure, human rights activist Cao Shunli
was detained at Beijing Municipal
Public Security Bureau Chaoyang
Branch where, in March 2014, Cao fell
into a coma and died from organ failure,
her body showing signs of emaciation
and neglect. Cao had been arrested after
attempting to board a flight to attend
human rights training in Geneva,
Switzerland. She was refused visitation
by her lawyer, and was refused medical
treatment while she suffered from
tuberculosis.
Sergey Kusiuk: Sergey Kusiuk
(Kusiuk) was commander of an elite
Ukrainian police unit, the Berkut.
Ukraine’s Special Investigations
Department investigating crimes against
activists identified Kusiuk as a leader of
an attack on peaceful protesters on
November 30, 2013, while in charge of
290 Berkut officers, many of whom took
part in the beating of activists. Kusiuk
has been named by the Ukrainian
General Prosecutor’s Office as an
individual who took part in the killings
of activists on Kyiv’s Independence
Square in February 2014. Kusiuk
ordered the destruction of
documentation related to the events,
and has fled Ukraine and is now in
hiding in Moscow, Russia, where he
was identified dispersing protesters as
part of a Russian riot police unit in June
2017.
Julio Antonio Juarez Ramirez: Julio
Antonio Juarez Ramirez (Juarez) is a
Guatemalan Congressman accused of
ordering an attack in which two
journalists were killed and another
injured. Guatemalan prosecutors and a
UN-sponsored commission investigating
corruption in Guatemala allege that
Juarez hired hit men to kill Prensa Libre
correspondent Danilo Efrain Zapan
Lopez, whose reporting had hurt
Juarez’s plan to run for reelection.
Fellow journalist Federico Benjamin
Salazar of Radio Nuevo Mundo was also
killed in the attack and is considered a
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collateral victim. Another journalist was
wounded in the attack.
Yankuba Badjie: Yankuba Badjie
(Badjie) was appointed as the Director
General of The Gambia’s NIA in
December 2013 and is alleged to have
presided over abuses throughout his
tenure. During Badjie’s tenure as
Director General, abuses were prevalent
and routine within the NIA, consisting
of physical trauma and other
mistreatment. In April 2016, Badjie
oversaw the detention and murder of
Solo Sandeng, a member of the political
opposition. In February 2017, Badjie
was charged along with eight
subordinates with Sandeng’s murder.
Prior to becoming Director General,
Badjie served as the NIA Deputy
Director General for Operations. Prior to
becoming a member of the NIA’s senior
leadership, Badjie led a paramilitary
group known as the Junglers to the
NIA’s headquarters to beat a prisoner for
approximately three hours, leaving the
prisoner unconscious and with broken
hands. The following day, Badjie and
the Junglers returned to beat the
prisoner again, leaving him on the verge
of death.
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Visa Restrictions
18:03 Feb 01, 2018
Efforts To Encourage Governments of
Other Countries To Impose Sanctions
Similar to Those Authorized by the Act
The United States is committed to
encouraging other countries to impose
sanctions on a similar basis to those
provided for by the Act. The
Departments of State and Treasury have
consulted closely with United Kingdom
and Canadian government counterparts
over the last year to encourage
development and implementation of
statutes similar to the Act by those
governments. Both countries have
enacted similar laws. The Departments
of State and Treasury shared
information with various foreign
partners regarding sanctions and other
actions that might be taken against
persons pursuant to the Act, as
implemented by the E.O., in parallel
with other governments’ relevant
authorities.
Manisha Singh,
Assistant Secretary of State, Bureau of
Economic and Business Affairs, Department
of State.
[FR Doc. 2018–02070 Filed 2–1–18; 8:45 am]
Although no visa restrictions were
imposed under the Act during the first
year of its enactment, persons
designated pursuant to the executive
order may be subject to the visa
restrictions articulated in Sec. 2. Sec. 2
contains restrictions pursuant to
Presidential Proclamation 8693, which
establishes a mechanism for imposing
visa restrictions on Specially Designated
Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDNs)
designated under the executive order
and certain other executive orders, as
well as individuals designated
otherwise for travel bans in UN Security
Council resolutions. In addition, the
Department of State continues to take
action, as appropriate, to implement
authorities pursuant to which it can
impose visa restrictions on those
responsible for human rights violations
and corruption, including Presidential
Proclamations 7750 and 8697, and
Section 7031(c) of the FY2017
Consolidated Appropriations Act. The
Department of State continues to make
visa ineligibility determinations
pursuant to the Immigration and
Nationality Act (INA), including Section
212(a)(3)(E) which makes individuals
who have participated in acts of
genocide or committed acts of torture,
extrajudicial killings, and other human
rights violations ineligible for visas.
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Termination of Sanctions
No sanctions imposed under the Act
were terminated.
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BILLING CODE 4710–AE–P
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration
Notice of Modification to Previously
Published Notice of Intent To Prepare
an Environmental Assessment
Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
The FAA is publishing this
notice to advise the public of a
modification to the Notice of Intent to
Prepare an Environmental Assessment
(EA) and notice of opportunity for
public comment published in the
Federal Register on April 21, 2014, at
79 FR 22177. Specifically, FAA is
withdrawing Wildlife Fence Project
from the scope of the EA, and the
project will be subject instead to a
discrete environmental review.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Parks Preston, Assistant Manager,
Atlanta Airports District Office, 1701
Columbia Avenue, Room 220, College
Park, Georgia 30337–2747, (404) 305–
6799.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Paulding
Northwest Atlanta Airport (PUJ) is
located outside Atlanta, Georgia, in the
SUMMARY:
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town of Dallas, Georgia. Paulding
County and the Paulding County
Airport Authority (PCAA) own the
airport. PUJ opened in 2008 and is
designated as a general aviation airport.
An EA for the construction of PUJ was
completed in 2005.
In September 2013, the PCAA
submitted an application to the FAA
requesting an Airport Operating
Certificate under title 14 Code of
Regulations, Part 139. A Part 139
Airport Operating Certificate allows the
airport to accommodate scheduled
passenger-carrying operations,
commonly referred to as ‘‘commercial
service.’’ In November 2013, several
Paulding County residents filed a
Petition for Review in the United States
Court of Appeals for the District of
Columbia of two categorical exclusions
(CATEXs) issued by the Georgia
Department of Transportation (GDOT),
as authorized by the FAA’s State Block
Grant Program, for airfield improvement
projects. The petitioners argued that the
two projects were connected to the
proposed introduction of commercial
service at PUJ. On December 23, 2013,
the petitioners and the FAA entered into
a settlement agreement under which the
FAA agreed to prepare, at a minimum,
an EA for the proposed Part 139 Airport
Operating Certificate and all connected
actions. The FAA is currently in the
process of preparing that EA (current
EA). While the settlement agreement
contemplated that the current EA would
include all actions connected with the
proposed issuance of the Part 139
Airport Operating Certificate, the FAA
opted to include in the current EA all
reasonably foreseeable airport
improvement projects, whether or not
connected with the proposed
introduction of commercial service.
On April 21, 2014, the FAA published
a ‘‘Notice of Intent to Prepare an
Environmental Assessment and Notice
of Opportunity for Public Comment’’ in
the Federal Register, 79 FR 22177. The
Notice of Intent identified all of the
projects intended to be reviewed in the
EA, including ‘‘Install approximately
19,000 linear feet of wildlife fencing
around the perimeter of the Airport’’.
PUJ owners now desire to move forward
with the Wildlife Fence Project more
expeditiously than will be possible if
the project remains within the scope of
the current EA. The primary need for
expediting this project is enhance
aviation safety to General Aviaion
operations at PUJ.
The Wildlife Fence has independent
utility, is not connected to the Part 139
Airport Operating Certificate, and is
therefore not required by the National
Environmental Policy Act or the terms
E:\FR\FM\02FEN1.SGM
02FEN1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 23 (Friday, February 2, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4950-4953]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-02070]
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DEPARTMENT OF STATE
[Public Notice: 10258]
Global Magntisky Human Rights Accountability Act Annual Report
AGENCY: Department of State.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: This notice contains the text of the report, submitted by the
President required by the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability
Act, as submitted by the Secretary of State.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Benjamin A. Kraut, Email: [email protected]
gov, Phone: (202) 647-9452.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On December 21, 2017, The Secretary of State
approved the following report pursuant to a delegation of authority
from the President under Executive Order 13818. Executive Order 13818,
which implements the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act
(Pub. L. 114-328, Subtitle F), was issued by the President on December
20, 2017 with an effective date of December 21, 2017. The text of the
report follows:
As required by Section 1264 of the Global Magnitsky Human Rights
Accountability Act of 2016 (Pub. L. 114-328, Subtitle F) (the ``Act''),
and in accordance with the executive order (E.O.) issued to implement
the Act, the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of
the Treasury, submits this report to detail the Administration's
implementation of the Act in 2017.
Enacted on December 23, 2016, the Act authorizes the President to
impose financial sanctions and visa restrictions on foreign persons
responsible for acts of corruption or certain human rights violations.
On December 20, 2017, the President issued an executive order to
implement the Act. This executive order authorizes the Secretary of the
Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State and the Attorney
General, to impose financial sanctions on persons determined to be
directly or indirectly responsible for serious human rights abuse or
acts of significant corruption. The executive order also authorizes the
Secretary of State to impose visa restrictions on persons designated
pursuant to the executive order.
The United States is committed to protecting and promoting human
rights and combatting corruption around the world. These efforts
advance a world order that reflects U.S. values and increases the
security of the United States, its allies, and its partners. The United
States has led, and is uniquely positioned to continue leading, the
international community in efforts to combat human rights abuse and
corruption on the international stage. Sanctions issued pursuant to the
Act, as implemented by the executive order, are consistent with these
longstanding efforts.
The United States will, under the executive order, pursue tangible
and significant consequences for those who commit serious human rights
abuse and engage in corruption. This tool will be used without
hesitation to advance U.S. interests in cases involving human rights
abusers or corrupt actors who are beyond the reach of other U.S.
sanctions authorities, but whose designation could have an impact on
these and other malign actors.
Financial Sanctions
Over the last year, various departments and agencies of the United
States Government have actively collected information from multiple
sources--including the Intelligence Community, U.S. missions around the
world, non-governmental organizations,
[[Page 4951]]
and Congress--to support sanctions designations under the executive
order.
In the executive order, the President issued sanctions and visa
restrictions on several persons around the world for human rights abuse
or corruption. Simultaneously, the Department of the Treasury issued a
number of designations targeting individuals and entities engaged in
human rights abuse or corruption or supporting those sanctioned by the
President. The Annex and designations issued this year pursuant to the
executive order are detailed below:
Yahya Jammeh: Yahya Jammeh (Jammeh), the former President of The
Gambia who came to power in 1994 and stepped down in 2017, has a long
history of engaging in serious human rights abuses and corruption.
Jammeh created a terror and assassination squad called the Junglers
that answered directly to him. Jammeh used the Junglers to threaten,
terrorize, interrogate, and kill individuals whom Jammeh assessed to be
threats. During Jammeh's tenure, he ordered the Junglers to kill a
local religious leader, journalists, members of the political
opposition, and former members of the government, among others. Jammeh
used the Gambia's National Intelligence Agency (NIA) as a repressive
tool of the regime--torturing political opponents and journalists.
Throughout his presidency, Jammeh routinely ordered the abuse and
murder of those he suspected of undermining his authority.
During his tenure, Jammeh used a number of corrupt schemes to
plunder The Gambia's state coffers or otherwise siphon off state funds
for his personal gain. Ongoing investigations continue to reveal
Jammeh's large-scale theft from state coffers prior to his departure.
According to The Gambia's Justice Ministry, Jammeh personally, or
through others acting under his instructions, directed the unlawful
withdrawal of at least $50 million of state funds. The Gambian
Government has since taken action to freeze Jammeh's assets within The
Gambia.
Related to Jammeh's designation, the Department of the Treasury
also designated Africada Airways, Kanilai Group International, Kanilai
Worni Family Farms Ltd, Royal Africa Capital Holding Ltd, Africada
Financial Service & Bureau de Change Ltd, Africada Micro-Finance Ltd,
Africada Insurance Company, Kora Media Corporation Ltd, Atlantic
Pelican Company Ltd, Palm Grove Africa Dev't Corp. Ltd, Patriot
Insurance Brokers Co. Ltd, and Royal Africa Securities Brokerage Co
Ltd.
Roberto Jose Rivas Reyes: As President of Nicaragua's Supreme
Electoral Council, drawing a reported government salary of $60,000 per
year, Roberto Jose Rivas Reyes (Rivas) has been accused in the press of
amassing sizeable personal wealth, including multiple properties,
private jets, luxury vehicles, and a yacht. Rivas has been described by
a Nicaraguan Comptroller General as ``above the law,'' with
investigations into his corruption having been blocked by Nicaraguan
government officials. He has also perpetrated electoral fraud
undermining Nicaragua's electoral institutions.
Dan Gertler: Dan Gertler (Gertler) is an international businessman
and billionaire who amassed his fortune through hundreds of millions of
dollars' worth of opaque and corrupt mining and oil deals in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Gertler has used his close
friendship with DRC President Joseph Kabila to act as a middleman for
mining asset sales in the DRC, requiring some multinational companies
to go through Gertler to do business with the Congolese state. As a
result, between 2010 and 2012 alone, the DRC reportedly lost over $1.36
billion in revenues from the underpricing of mining assets that were
sold to offshore companies linked to Gertler. The failure of the DRC to
publish the full details of one of the sales prompted the International
Monetary Fund to halt loans to the DRC totaling $225 million. In 2013,
Gertler sold to the DRC government for $150 million the rights to an
oil block that Gertler purchased from the government for just $500,000,
a loss of $149.5 million in potential revenue. Gertler has acted for or
on behalf of Kabila, helping Kabila organize offshore leasing
companies.
Related to Gertler's designation, the Department of the Treasury
designated Pieter Albert Deboutte, Fleurette Properties Limited,
Fleurette Holdings Netherlands B.V., Gertler Family Foundation, Oil of
DR Congo SPRL, Jarvis Congo SARL, International Diamond Industries,
D.G.D. Investments Ltd., D.G.I. Israel Ltd, Proglan Capital Ltd, Emaxon
Finance International Inc., Africa Horizons Investment Limited,
Caprikat Limited, Foxwhelp Limited, Caprikat and Foxwhelp SARL, Lora
Enterprises Limited, Zuppa Holdings Limited, Orama Properties Ltd, DGI
Mining Ltd, and Rozaro Development Limited.
Slobodan Tesic: Slobodan Tesic (Tesic) is among the biggest dealers
of arms and munitions in the Balkans; he spent nearly a decade on the
United Nations (UN) Travel Ban List for violating UN sanctions against
arms exports to Liberia. In order to secure arms contracts with various
countries, Tesic would directly or indirectly provide bribes and
financial assistance to officials. Tesic also took potential clients on
high-value vacations, paid for their children's education at western
schools or universities, and used large bribes to secure contracts.
Tesic owns or controls two Serbian companies, Partizan Tech and
Technoglobal Systems DOO Beograd, and two Cyprus-based companies Grawit
Limited and Charso Limited. Tesic negotiates the sale of weapons via
Charso Limited and used Grawit Limited as a mechanism to fund
politicians.
Related to Tesic's designation, the Department of the Treasury
designated Preduzece Za Trgovinu Na Veliko I Malo Partizan Tech DOO
Beograd-Savski Venac (``Partizan Tech''), Charso Limited, Grawit
Limited, and Technoglobal Systems DOO Beograd.
Maung Maung Soe: In his former role as chief of the Burmese Army's
Western command, Maung Maung Soe oversaw the military operation in
Burma's Rakhine State responsible for widespread human rights abuse
against Rohingya civilians in response to attacks by the Arakan
Rohingya Salvation Army. The Secretary of State determined on November
22 that the situation in northern Rakhine state in Burma constituted
ethnic cleansing. The United States Government examined credible
evidence of Maung Maung Soe's activities, including allegations against
Burmese security forces of extrajudicial killings, sexual violence, and
arbitrary arrest as well as the widespread burning of villages.
Security operations have led to hundreds of thousands of Rohingya
refugees fleeing across Burma's border with Bangladesh. In August 2017,
witnesses reportedly described mass killings and arson attacks by the
Burmese Army and Burmese Border Guard Police, both then under Maung
Maung Soe's command in northern Rakhine State. In August 2017, soldiers
described as being from the Western Command allegedly entered a village
and reportedly separated the inhabitants by gender. According to
witnesses, soldiers opened fire on the men and older boys and committed
multiple acts of rape. Many of the women and younger children were
reportedly also shot. Other witnesses described soldiers setting huts
on fire with villagers inside.
Benjamin Bol Mel: Benjamin Bol Mel (Bol Mel) is the President of
ABMC Thai-South Sudan Construction Company Limited (ABMC), and has
served as the Chairman of the South Sudan Chamber of Commerce,
Industry, and Agriculture. Bol Mel has also served
[[Page 4952]]
as South Sudanese President Salva Kiir's principal financial advisor,
has been Kiir's private secretary, and was perceived within the
government as being close to Kiir and the local business community.
Several officials were linked to ABMC in spite of a constitutional
prohibition on top government officials transacting commercial business
or earning income from outside the government.
Bol Mel oversees ABMC, which has been awarded contracts worth tens
of millions of dollars by the Government of South Sudan. ABMC allegedly
received preferential treatment from high-level officials, and the
Government of South Sudan did not hold a competitive process for
selecting ABMC to do roadwork on several roads in Juba and throughout
South Sudan. Although this roadwork had been completed only a few years
before, the government budgeted tens of millions of dollars more for
maintenance of the same roads.
Related to Bol Mel's designation, the Department of the Treasury
designated ABMC Thai-South Sudan Construction Company Limited and Home
and Away LTD.
Mukhtar Hamid Shah: Mukhtar Hamid Shah (Shah) is a Pakistani
surgeon specializing in kidney transplants who Pakistani police believe
to be involved in kidnapping, wrongful confinement, and the removal of
and trafficking in human organs. As an owner of the Kidney Centre in
Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Shah was involved in the kidnapping and detention
of, and removal of kidneys from, Pakistani laborers. Shah was arrested
by Pakistani authorities in connection with an October 2016 incident in
which 24 individuals from Punjab were found to be held against their
will. Impoverished and illiterate Pakistanis from the countryside were
reportedly lured to Rawalpindi with the promise of a job, and
imprisoned for weeks. Doctors from the Kidney Centre were allegedly
planning to steal their kidneys in order to sell them for a large
profit. Police state that one of the accused arrested in connection
with the events estimated that more than 400 people were imprisoned in
the apartment at various times.
Gulnara Karimova: Gulnara Karimova (Karimova), daughter of former
Uzbekistan leader Islam Karimov, headed a powerful organized crime
syndicate that leveraged state actors to expropriate businesses,
monopolize markets, solicit bribes, and administer extortion rackets.
In July 2017, the Uzbek Prosecutor General's Office charged Karimova
with directly abetting the criminal activities of an organized crime
group whose assets were worth over $1.3 billion. Karimova was also
charged with hiding foreign currency through various means, including
the receipt of payoffs in the accounts of offshore companies controlled
by an organized criminal group, the illegal sale of radio frequencies
and land parcels, siphoning off state funds through fraudulent dividend
payments and stock sales, the illegal removal of cash, the non-
collection of currency earnings, and the import of goods at inflated
prices. Karimova was also found guilty of embezzlement of state funds,
theft, tax evasion, and concealment of documents. Karimova laundered
the proceeds of corruption back to her own accounts through a complex
network of subsidiary companies and segregated portfolio funds.
Karimova's targeting of successful businesses to maximize her gains and
enrich herself in some cases destroyed Uzbek competitors. Due in part
to Karimova's corrupt activities in the telecom sector alone, Uzbeks
paid some of the highest rates in the world for cellular service.
Angel Rondon Rijo: Angel Rondon Rijo (Rondon) is a politically
connected businessman and lobbyist in the Dominican Republic who
funneled money from Odebrecht, a Brazilian construction company, to
Dominican officials, who in turn awarded Odebrecht projects to build
highways, dams, and other projects. According to the U.S. Department of
Justice, Odebrecht is a Brazil-based global construction conglomerate
that has pled guilty to charges of conspiracy to violate the anti-
bribery provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and agreed to
a criminal fine of $4.5 billion. In 2017, Rondon was arrested by
Dominican authorities and charged with corruption for the bribes paid
by Odebrecht.
Artem Chayka: Artem Chayka (Chayka) is the son of the Prosecutor
General of the Russian Federation and has leveraged his father's
position and ability to award his subordinates to unfairly win state-
owned assets and contracts and put pressure on business competitors. In
2014, reconstruction of a highway began, and Chayka's competitor for
supplying materials to the project suddenly fell under prosecutorial
scrutiny. An anonymous complaint letter with a fake name initiated a
government investigation against the competitor. Government inspectors
did not produce any documents confirming the legality of the
inspections, and did not inform subjects of the investigation of their
rights. Traffic police were deployed along the route to the competitor,
weight control stations were suddenly dispatched, and trees were dug up
and left to block entrances. The competitor was forced to shut down,
leaving Chayka in a position to non-competitively work on the highway
project. Also in 2014, Chayka bid on a state-owned stone and gravel
company, and was awarded the contract. His competitor contested the
results and filed a lawsuit. Prosecutors thereafter raided his home.
After Chayka's competitor withdrew the lawsuit, prosecutors dropped all
charges.
Gao Yan: Gao Yan (Gao) was the Beijing Public Security Bureau
Chaoyang Branch director. During Gao's tenure, human rights activist
Cao Shunli was detained at Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau
Chaoyang Branch where, in March 2014, Cao fell into a coma and died
from organ failure, her body showing signs of emaciation and neglect.
Cao had been arrested after attempting to board a flight to attend
human rights training in Geneva, Switzerland. She was refused
visitation by her lawyer, and was refused medical treatment while she
suffered from tuberculosis.
Sergey Kusiuk: Sergey Kusiuk (Kusiuk) was commander of an elite
Ukrainian police unit, the Berkut. Ukraine's Special Investigations
Department investigating crimes against activists identified Kusiuk as
a leader of an attack on peaceful protesters on November 30, 2013,
while in charge of 290 Berkut officers, many of whom took part in the
beating of activists. Kusiuk has been named by the Ukrainian General
Prosecutor's Office as an individual who took part in the killings of
activists on Kyiv's Independence Square in February 2014. Kusiuk
ordered the destruction of documentation related to the events, and has
fled Ukraine and is now in hiding in Moscow, Russia, where he was
identified dispersing protesters as part of a Russian riot police unit
in June 2017.
Julio Antonio Juarez Ramirez: Julio Antonio Juarez Ramirez (Juarez)
is a Guatemalan Congressman accused of ordering an attack in which two
journalists were killed and another injured. Guatemalan prosecutors and
a UN-sponsored commission investigating corruption in Guatemala allege
that Juarez hired hit men to kill Prensa Libre correspondent Danilo
Efrain Zapan Lopez, whose reporting had hurt Juarez's plan to run for
reelection. Fellow journalist Federico Benjamin Salazar of Radio Nuevo
Mundo was also killed in the attack and is considered a
[[Page 4953]]
collateral victim. Another journalist was wounded in the attack.
Yankuba Badjie: Yankuba Badjie (Badjie) was appointed as the
Director General of The Gambia's NIA in December 2013 and is alleged to
have presided over abuses throughout his tenure. During Badjie's tenure
as Director General, abuses were prevalent and routine within the NIA,
consisting of physical trauma and other mistreatment. In April 2016,
Badjie oversaw the detention and murder of Solo Sandeng, a member of
the political opposition. In February 2017, Badjie was charged along
with eight subordinates with Sandeng's murder. Prior to becoming
Director General, Badjie served as the NIA Deputy Director General for
Operations. Prior to becoming a member of the NIA's senior leadership,
Badjie led a paramilitary group known as the Junglers to the NIA's
headquarters to beat a prisoner for approximately three hours, leaving
the prisoner unconscious and with broken hands. The following day,
Badjie and the Junglers returned to beat the prisoner again, leaving
him on the verge of death.
Visa Restrictions
Although no visa restrictions were imposed under the Act during the
first year of its enactment, persons designated pursuant to the
executive order may be subject to the visa restrictions articulated in
Sec. 2. Sec. 2 contains restrictions pursuant to Presidential
Proclamation 8693, which establishes a mechanism for imposing visa
restrictions on Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons
(SDNs) designated under the executive order and certain other executive
orders, as well as individuals designated otherwise for travel bans in
UN Security Council resolutions. In addition, the Department of State
continues to take action, as appropriate, to implement authorities
pursuant to which it can impose visa restrictions on those responsible
for human rights violations and corruption, including Presidential
Proclamations 7750 and 8697, and Section 7031(c) of the FY2017
Consolidated Appropriations Act. The Department of State continues to
make visa ineligibility determinations pursuant to the Immigration and
Nationality Act (INA), including Section 212(a)(3)(E) which makes
individuals who have participated in acts of genocide or committed acts
of torture, extrajudicial killings, and other human rights violations
ineligible for visas.
Termination of Sanctions
No sanctions imposed under the Act were terminated.
Efforts To Encourage Governments of Other Countries To Impose Sanctions
Similar to Those Authorized by the Act
The United States is committed to encouraging other countries to
impose sanctions on a similar basis to those provided for by the Act.
The Departments of State and Treasury have consulted closely with
United Kingdom and Canadian government counterparts over the last year
to encourage development and implementation of statutes similar to the
Act by those governments. Both countries have enacted similar laws. The
Departments of State and Treasury shared information with various
foreign partners regarding sanctions and other actions that might be
taken against persons pursuant to the Act, as implemented by the E.O.,
in parallel with other governments' relevant authorities.
Manisha Singh,
Assistant Secretary of State, Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs,
Department of State.
[FR Doc. 2018-02070 Filed 2-1-18; 8:45 am]
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