The U.K. Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation released a threat assessment about possible sanctions violations by legal services providers, noting that since February 2022, the legal services sector has accounted for the second-highest number of suspected breach report submissions to OFSI. Legal services accounts for 16% of all submissions, behind first-place financial services with 65% of submissions.
Singapore said it’s boosting enforcement against companies that may be using the country to circumvent foreign nations’ export controls on advanced chips, warning businesses that it may take legal action or impose other penalties.
Ross Kennedy, founder of advisory firm Fortis Analysis, has joined the Bureau of Industry and Security as a senior adviser, he announced this week on LinkedIn. Kennedy said his "primary focus will be on supporting exceptional agents, analysts, and colleagues in the Office of Export Enforcement, a law enforcement agency staffed by quiet, diligent, dedicated professionals and which sits at the nexus of national security and advanced technologies, data, and products."
Antigua and Barbuda formally accepted the World Trade Organization Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies on April 3, bringing the number of countries that have accepted the deal to 95. The WTO needs 16 more countries to accept to get to two-thirds of the membership, the threshold for the agreement to take effect.
The European Parliament on April 3 voted 531-69, with 17 abstentions, to postpone the effective date of new EU-wide supply chain due diligence rules for certain companies (see 2405240031). If formally approved by the European Council, the reporting rules would be postponed by one year for companies with over 5,000 employees and annual turnover of $1.6 billion, along with “non-EU companies with a turnover above this threshold in the EU.” Parliament said this means member states would have an extra year -- until July 26, 2027 -- to transpose the rules into their national legislation, and the companies “will only have to apply the rules from 2028.”
The European Commission hasn't been officially informed by the Bureau of Industry and Security about the agency's plans to pull back from export control talks at the U.S.-EU Trade and Technology Council, a commission spokesperson said this week.
The Bureau of Industry and Security this week added 30 parties to its boycott requester list, a list of entities that have asked other companies to boycott goods from certain countries in violation of the Export Administration Regulations. It also removed 18 parties after they certified that they "stopped making boycott-related requests in transactions with U.S. persons," BIS said.
Russian national Oleg Patsulya was sentenced April 2 to nearly six years in prison for his role in a conspiracy to ship controlled aviation technology to Russia in violation of U.S. export laws and to launder money in connection with the scheme, DOJ announced.
The House Republican Study Committee unveiled a package of sanctions bills April 1 aimed at backing the Trump administration’s efforts to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons and supporting terrorism.
Former Sen. David Perdue, R-Ga., President Donald Trump’s nominee for U.S. ambassador to China, said April 3 that he will try to “increase the dialogue pace” on U.S.-China trade, including on agricultural products, if he’s confirmed.