OFAC Targets a Castro Grandson, a Cuban State Bank and Four Energy and Nickel Enterprises
On 3 September 2026 the United States designated Fidel Ernesto Castro Calis and five Cuban state enterprises under Executive Order 14404, among them Banco Exterior de Cuba, the foreign-trade bank with SWIFT code BECUCUHH, and the commercial and procurement arms of the CUPET oil group and the nickel industry. In the same notice OFAC removed the Zurich asset manager Dulac Capital from the Russia programme, and the UK corrected one Russia entry, Ozon Bank. Six designations, one removal, one correction. The State Department's fact sheet sets out three strands to the action. The first is the Castro family: Fidel Ernesto Castro Calis, born 16 May 1995 and a grandson of Raul Castro, is designated as an adult family member of Alejandro Castro Espin, his father, who was listed with Castro Calis's brother on 4 June 2026. The second is the financial channel: Banco Exterior de Cuba, the state-owned bank at Plaza de la Revolucion that handles corporate banking, foreign-trade finance and international transactions, is designated for operating in the financial services sector of the Cuban economy; OFAC publishes its SWIFT/BIC BECUCUHH and website. The third is resource extraction.
This issue
- New designations
- 6
- Removals
- 1
- Entries amended
- 1
- Sources monitored
- 85
Six Cuban Parties Added to the SDN List; a Swiss Asset Manager Comes Off
The State Department's fact sheet sets out three strands to the action. The first is the Castro family: Fidel Ernesto Castro Calis, born 16 May 1995 and a grandson of Raul Castro, is designated as an adult family member of Alejandro Castro Espin, his father, who was listed with Castro Calis's brother on 4 June 2026. The second is the financial channel: Banco Exterior de Cuba, the state-owned bank at Plaza de la Revolucion that handles corporate banking, foreign-trade finance and international transactions, is designated for operating in the financial services sector of the Cuban economy; OFAC publishes its SWIFT/BIC BECUCUHH and website. The third is resource extraction. Comercial Cupet S.A., which represents the state oil company CUPET in negotiations and joint ventures, and ABAPET, the CUPET subsidiary that imports equipment, spare parts and industrial inputs, are designated on the energy sector and the CUPET ownership grounds respectively; NICAROTEC at Mayari and CEXNI at Moa, both in Holguin province, are designated for operating in the metals and mining sector, where they provide geological support and import machinery and raw materials for the nickel and cobalt industry.
The removal runs the other way. Dulac Capital Ltd, a Zurich asset manager and multi-family office designated on 19 May 2023 for operating in Russia's financial services sector, leaves the SDN List together with the separate records OFAC held for its Moscow and Saint Petersburg representative offices; the four records carry the same Swiss and Russian tax numbers and the same Legal Entity Identifier, so they are treated here as one party. OFAC gave no reasons, as is its practice, and Anselm Oskar Schmucki and the companies designated with him in 2023 remain listed. The same notice issued Cuba General Licence 4A, authorising transactions for third-country diplomatic and consular missions in Cuba. Separately, on 3 September the FCDO corrected the UK Sanctions List entry for Limited Liability Company "Ozon Bank" (RUS3709), striking the name variation ONEY BANK and its Cyrillic form; the bank remains subject to an asset freeze and to the prohibition on correspondent banking relationships and processing payments, and the exact old and new values are reproduced below and in the detailed report.
Party detail
Every row below was read against the issuing authority's own notice, not against a press report. Aliases are reproduced in full, including non Latin script forms, because the alias field is where a screening run usually fails. Identifiers are published sanctions data.
| Party | Action and instrument | Identifiers | Grounds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fidel Ernesto Castro Calis | DesignationExecutive Order 14404, Imposing Sanctions on Those Responsible for Repression in Cuba and for Threats to U.S. National Security and Foreign Policy [CUBA-EO14404] | Date of birth: 16 May 1995Nationality: CubaIdentifier: Gender: maleIdentifier: no passport or national identity number published in the listingAddress: Cuba | Designated on 3 September 2026 by the Department of State under section 2(a)(i)(I) of Executive Order 14404 for being an adult family member of Alejandro Castro Espin, a person designated under the same order. Castro Espin, his father, was designated alongside his brother Raul Alejandro Castro Calis on 4 June 2026. The action forms part of the United States' stated push to end what it describes as the Cuban regime's repression and malign activity across the hemisphere. |
| Banco Exterior de Cuba | DesignationExecutive Order 14404, Imposing Sanctions on Those Responsible for Repression in Cuba and for Threats to U.S. National Security and Foreign Policy [CUBA-EO14404] | Identifier: SWIFT/BIC BECUCUHHIdentifier: website bancoexteriorcuba.cuIdentifier: organisation established 29 Feb 2000Identifier: target type: financial institutionAddress: Plaza de la Revolucion, Havana, Cuba | Designated on 3 September 2026 under section 2(a)(i)(A) of Executive Order 14404 for operating or having operated in the financial services sector of the Cuban economy. The State Department describes the bank as a state-owned institution that specialises in corporate banking, foreign-trade finance and international transactions, and frames the designation as a step to restrict the government's ability to use the international financial system. Its SWIFT/BIC BECUCUHH is published in the listing. |
| Comercial Cupet S.A. | DesignationExecutive Order 14404, Imposing Sanctions on Those Responsible for Repression in Cuba and for Threats to U.S. National Security and Foreign Policy [CUBA-EO14404] | Identifier: Organisation established 18 Sep 1991Identifier: organisation type: wholesale of solid, liquid and gaseous fuels and related productsIdentifier: target type: state-owned enterpriseAddress: Havana, Cuba | Designated on 3 September 2026 under section 2(a)(i)(A) of Executive Order 14404 for operating or having operated in the energy sector of the Cuban economy. According to the State Department the company is the CUPET group's commercial arm, representing the state oil company in negotiations and joint ventures with foreign entities. |
| Empresa de Servicios Comandante Rene Ramos Latour | DesignationExecutive Order 14404, Imposing Sanctions on Those Responsible for Repression in Cuba and for Threats to U.S. National Security and Foreign Policy [CUBA-EO14404] | Identifier: Organisation established 31 Jan 1977Identifier: organisation type: support activities for other mining and quarryingIdentifier: target type: state-owned enterpriseAddress: Mayari, Holguin, Cuba | Designated on 3 September 2026 under section 2(a)(i)(A) of Executive Order 14404 for operating or having operated in the metals and mining sector of the Cuban economy. The State Department describes NICAROTEC as a state-owned industrial and technical services enterprise that provides geological and mining support for the Cuban nickel sector, based at Mayari in Holguin province. |
| Empresa Importadora de Abastecimiento para el Petroleo | DesignationExecutive Order 14404, Imposing Sanctions on Those Responsible for Repression in Cuba and for Threats to U.S. National Security and Foreign Policy [CUBA-EO14404] | Identifier: Organisation established 21 Mar 2000Identifier: organisation type: wholesale of other machinery and equipmentIdentifier: target type: state-owned enterpriseAddress: Havana, Cuba | Designated on 3 September 2026 under section 2(a)(i)(B) of Executive Order 14404 for being owned, controlled or directed by, or having acted for or on behalf of, Union Cuba Petroleo (CUPET), a person whose property is blocked under the same order. The State Department describes ABAPET as a CUPET subsidiary that imports the technological equipment, spare parts, specialised tools and industrial inputs required to sustain Cuba's energy sector. |
| Empresa Importadora y Abastecedora del Niquel | DesignationExecutive Order 14404, Imposing Sanctions on Those Responsible for Repression in Cuba and for Threats to U.S. National Security and Foreign Policy [CUBA-EO14404] | Identifier: Organisation established 31 Dec 1994Identifier: organisation type: non-specialised wholesale tradeIdentifier: target type: state-owned enterpriseAddress: Moa, Holguin, Cuba | Designated on 3 September 2026 under section 2(a)(i)(A) of Executive Order 14404 for operating or having operated in the metals and mining sector of the Cuban economy. The State Department describes CEXNI as a foreign-trade and logistics enterprise that imports and supplies specialised raw materials, machinery and equipment for Cuba's nickel and cobalt industry, based at Moa in Holguin province. |
| Dulac Capital Ltd | RemovalExecutive Order 14024, Russian Harmful Foreign Activities Sanctions [RUSSIA-EO14024] | Tax ID: 113974567 (Switzerland)Identifier: alt. Tax ID No. 9909354395 (Russia)Identifier: Identification Number SRWNNB.99999.SL.756 (Switzerland)Identifier: Legal Entity Number 529900E3569EJW938341Registration number: CH-020.3.031.775-0 (Switzerland)Identifier: organisation established 14 Dec 2007Address: Arosastrasse 7, Zurich 8008, Switzerland; Pr-kt Morskoi pom. 12-N, Saint Petersburg 197110, Russia; Pr-kt Leningradskii, Moscow 125167, Russia | Removed from the SDN List on 3 September 2026. Dulac Capital was designated on 19 May 2023 under Executive Order 14024 for operating or having operated in the financial services sector of the Russian Federation economy, alongside its Moscow branch chief Anselm Oskar Schmucki and his network of companies. OFAC's notice lists four records for deletion, the Swiss company and the separate entries for its Moscow and Saint Petersburg representative offices, which share the same identifiers; they are treated here as one legal entity. OFAC did not publish reasons for the removal, which is its usual practice. Anselm Oskar Schmucki and the other companies designated with him on 19 May 2023 were not part of this action and remain listed. |
| Limited Liability Company "Ozon Bank" | AmendmentThe Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 [UK Sanctions List, Russia regime] | Identifier: TIN 9703077050Identifier: OGRN 1227700133792Identifier: Central Bank of Russia licence 3542Identifier: websites t.me/ozon_bank_official and finance.ozon.ruIdentifier: email addresses help@finance.ozon.ru and infobank@ozon.ruIdentifier: telephone +7 (800) 555-89-21, +7 (800) 555-89-82, +7 (495) 215-24-08Address: Floor 19, Nab Presnenskaya 10, Vt. Ter. Presnensky municipal district, Moscow 123112, Russia | Designated on 6 August 2026 on the ground that there are reasonable grounds to suspect the bank is or has been obtaining a benefit from or supporting the Government of Russia by carrying on business in a sector of strategic significance, namely the Russian financial services sector. On 3 September 2026 the FCDO corrected the entry by removing the ONEY BANK name variation and its Cyrillic form. Listing status is unchanged: the asset freeze, trust services sanctions, director disqualification sanction and the prohibition on correspondent banking relationships and processing payments all remain in force. |
What this means for your organisation
- 01
Load the six Cuban parties today and screen the SWIFT code as well as the name: Banco Exterior de Cuba is identified by BIC BECUCUHH; key it into payment filters and correspondent-banking controls, not only the customer file. The five enterprises carry Cuban entity codes and establishment dates that help separate them from similarly named bodies.
- 02
Treat the CUPET group and the nickel chain as blocked counterparties: ABAPET is designated for being owned or controlled by CUPET, and OFAC's 50 per cent rule extends blocking to any entity majority-owned by the parties listed. Suppliers of equipment, spare parts or raw materials to Cuba's oil or nickel sectors should trace their counterparties to the ultimate state owner.
- 03
Note the secondary sanctions exposure written into E.O. 14404: The State Department warns that foreign persons who transact with these parties, or who operate in the Cuban energy, defence, metals and mining, financial services or security sectors, are themselves at risk. Non-US banks with Cuban trade-finance exposure should review it against that language.
- 04
Close the Dulac Capital hit but keep the 2023 network on file: Release any freeze that rested solely on Dulac Capital's OFAC listing, including the Moscow and Saint Petersburg office records, after checking for other listings. Anselm Oskar Schmucki and the companies designated with him remain on the SDN List.
- 05
Re-key Ozon Bank's name variations and cite the new FinCEN key term: Remove ONEY BANK and its Cyrillic form from the RUS3709 record; the bank stays under an asset freeze and a correspondent banking prohibition. Institutions filing on scam-centre activity should reference FIN-2026-SCAMCENTERS from today. Twenty-seven registers could not be verified this cycle and are carried forward, not cleared.
Where this issue came from
The map plots the sources Youverify monitors. The pulsing markers are the two authorities cited in this issue: FCDO and OFAC. Hover any marker to name the sources read there.
Method statement
Parties are taken from the issuing authorities' list data and notices as recorded in the Youverify Sanctions Monitor of 4 September 2026, one row per party. Website copy for this archive edition is compiled from that day's published briefing.
Corrections
No corrections issued for this issue. Corrections are published on the issue they affect, dated, with the original text retained.Cite this issue
Vyra from Youverify. "OFAC Targets a Castro Grandson, a Cuban State Bank and Four Energy and Nickel Enterprises." Youverify Sanctions Monitor, issue 118, 4 September 2026. https://youverify.co/en/sanctions/2026-09-04. Accessed 4 September 2026.