Washington / Havana. The Treasury has again imposed two fines on Western European companies as part of the blockade – and US – government sanctions policy. It is about CA Indosuez Switzerland S.A. ( CAIS ), which offers wealth management and is based in Switzerland, and CFM Indosuez Wealth ( CFM ), based in Monaco.
The US – International Investment Control Authority ( Ofac ) has justified the penalties in both cases with business activities with Cuba and some other countries, including Iran and Syria.
CAIS conducted dollar – transactions with individual customers from sanctioned countries and CFM also processed financial transfers in US – dollars for customers from these countries. Accordingly, a comparison has now been made between the Ofac and the two companies, according to which CAIS should pay US 720,000 – dollars and CFM over US – dollars to the USA.
The basis for this is the increasing unilateral blockade – and sanctioning regulations of the USA against the mentioned states. According to the US – Treasury Department, the number of sanctions against foreign actors has increased almost tenfold since 2000 from 912 to 9,421 in 2021.
Cuba is particularly affected and harmed by this, because during the term of office of US – President Donald Trump alone, numerous blockade measures were tightened and 243 new sanctions were imposed on the neighboring state. In addition, a month ago, US – President Joe Biden signed the extension of the so-called “Trading with the Enemy Act”, a law from the First World War, which further extends major blockade measures.
According to the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Havana, all of these sanctions and blockade measures ignore the unanimous rejection of that US – policy by the global community. The US blockade was also “entunistically tightened in connection with the Covid – 19 – pandemic in order to bring hunger, disease and misery to the Cuban people”.
Meanwhile, social movements in the United States such as Peoples’ Forum, Code Pink and the Puentes de Amor solidarity project have called for donations and support for Cuba. In Europe, the “Unblock Cuba” campaign is being intensified. For example, the action “1C4Cuba” practiced with which citizens should make bank transfers with the subject” Cuba “in order to challenge the previous aid from the banks to block.
Finally, on 3. November the next vote in the UN – General Assembly on the US – blockade against Cuba will be voted on and an overwhelming majority can be expected again for an end to the blockade.
