Germany charged four managers of spyware company FinFisher with intentionally violating dual-use export controls after they sold surveillance products, without licenses, to countries outside the EU. The managers of the FinFisher group of companies, which were some of the “world's leading” spyware firms before declaring insolvency last year, never “even applied for” export licenses from German authorities and tried to evade detection, Munich’s public prosecutor announced this week, according to an unofficial translation.

A group of European countries not in the EU aligned with a recent sanctions move from the European Council under the Myanmar restrictions regime, the council announced. In late April, the council extended the sanctions until 2024 and updated the listing of certain individuals and entities subject to restrictions. The countries of North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Albania, Ukraine, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway also imposed the decision.

Switzerland added 25 individuals and eight entities to its Syria sanctions list. It also amended entries for one individual and one entity and delisted one individual. Most of the newly listed parties are involved in the production and trafficking of narcotics. The sanctions mirror similar restrictions imposed by the EU. Switzerland also amended entries under its Iran and Myanmar sanctions regimes.

The U.K. amended one entry under its Myanmar sanctions regime, in a May 10 notice. The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation changed the listing to reflect the company's name change from Synpex Shwe Company Ltd. to SS Techniques Company Limited, with the original name now listed as one the company is also known as.

The U.S. last week fined Wells Fargo nearly $100 million for allegedly breaching U.S. sanctions against Iran, Syria and Sudan, violations that stemmed from its "unsafe or unsound" sanctions compliance practices. The bank was fined $30 million by the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control and $67.8 million by the Federal Reserve after OFAC said Wells Fargo's subsidiary allowed a European bank to use its trade finance platform to process more than $500 million in sanctioned transactions.

The Bureau of Industry and Security this week added 11 entities in China, Myanmar, Nicaragua and Russia to the Entity List for various activities that have contributed to human rights abuses, the agency said in a final rule effective March 28. The entities include procurement firms, a police entity and technology and electronics companies, including several subsidiaries of Chinese surveillance company Hikvision, which was added to the Entity List in 2019 (see 2205090014).

The U.K. Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation this week added two people and one entity to its Myanmar sanctions list: Khin Phyu Win, director of Shoon Energy; Tun Min Latt, director of Star Sapphire Trading Co.; and Shoon Energy. The U.S. sanctioned Tun Min Latt and Star Sapphire last week (see 2303240024).

The Bureau of Industry and Security added 11 entities in China, Myanmar, Nicaragua and Russia to the Entity List for various activities that have contributed to human rights abuses, the agency said in a final rule effective March 28. The entities include technology and electronics companies, among them multiple subsidiaries of Chinese surveillance company Hikvision, which was added to the Entity List in 2019 (see 2205090014). The entities will face a license requirement for all items subject to the Export Administration Regulations, and BIS will review license applications under a presumption of denial. BIS also amended the EAR to “explicitly confirm” that protecting human rights worldwide is a “basis” for adding entities to the Entity List.

The U.S. last week sanctioned two people and six entities linked to Myanmar’s military regime and issued a new alert to warn companies about the risks of providing jet fuel to the country’s military.

The EU added nine people and three entities to its global human rights sanctions regime for their roles in carrying out sexual and gender-based violence, the European Council announced March 7. The new listings include acting Taliban officials, Moscow police officers, members of the Russian armed forces, South Sudanese militia commanders, a Myanmar official and military office, an Iranian prison and the Syrian Republican Guard.