The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the U.S. Department of the Treasury updated its Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list on Monday, September 16, 2024, adding new individuals and entities to its sanctions. Three of the thirteen individuals added are connected to Cyprus and Greece—two with Cypriot nationality (Panagiota Karaoli and Artemis Artemiou) and one with Greek nationality (Felix Bichios).

According to the report, OFAC imposed sanctions on five individuals and one entity associated with the Intellexa consortium for their involvement in the development, operation, and distribution of commercial spyware technology, which poses a significant threat to U.S. national security.

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This update is part of coordinated U.S. government actions against suppliers of commercial spyware. These actions include previous sanctions against individuals and entities linked to Intellexa, the addition of commercial spyware suppliers to the Entity List by the Department of Commerce, and the Department of State's visa ban policy targeting individuals benefiting from spyware. The sanctions were applied to thirteen individuals.

Regarding the two Cypriot nationals, the announcement specifies their involvement in the sanctions, though no further details are provided.

The individual with Greek citizenship is businessman Felix Bichios.