Witnesses set to testify during a House Communications Subcommittee hearing Thursday (see 2402090072) want lawmakers to consider longer-term initiatives for curbing China’s risk to U.S. communications networks. The push for Congress to allocate an additional $3.08 billion for the FCC’s Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program (see 2401240001) will likely receive attention during the hearing, as it has in other recent panels, lobbyists said. The hearing will begin at 10 a.m. in 2123 Rayburn.
Behrouz Mokhtari of McLean, Virginia, and Tehran pleaded guilty Jan. 9 to two conspiracies to violate U.S. sanctions on Iran "by engaging in business activities on behalf of Iranian entities" without getting a license from the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control, DOJ announced Jan. 9. Mokhtari will forfeit money, property and assets obtained from the schemes, including a Campbell, California, home, and a money judgment of over $2.8 million, DOJ said. The defendant faces a maximum of five years in prison for each of the two conspiracy counts.
Electronics distribution company Broad Tech System and its president and owner, Tao Jiang of Riverside, California, pleaded guilty Jan. 11 to participating in a conspiracy to illegally ship chemicals made or distributed by a Rhode Island-based company to a Chinese firm with ties to the Chinese military, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Rhode Island announced. Jiang and Broad Tech admitted to violating the Export Control Act and conspiring to commit money laundering.
DOJ will not seek a second trial against embattled former FTX chief Sam Bankman-Fried related to charges he conspired to bribe foreign officials in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. In a Dec. 29 letter to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said proceeding with the sentencing, and avoiding a delay that a second trial would cause, "would advance the public's interest in a timely and just resolution of the case" (U.S. v. Samuel Bankman-Fried, S.D.N.Y. # 22-00673).
DOJ will not seek a second trial against embattled former FTX chief Sam Bankman-Fried related to charges he conspired to bribe foreign officials in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. In a Dec. 29 letter to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said proceeding with the sentencing, and avoiding a delay that a second trial would cause, "would advance the public's interest in a timely and just resolution of the case" (U.S. v. Samuel Bankman-Fried, S.D.N.Y. # 22-00673).
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Nov. 21 announced a $968 million settlement with Binance, the world’s largest virtual currency exchange, for allegedly violating multiple U.S. sanctions programs when the company allowed people who were either subject to sanctions or located in sanctioned jurisdictions to use its platform. OFAC said Binance senior management knew they were illegally allowing sanctioned users to access its online exchange platform and took steps to “undermine” the company’s own compliance procedures.
The U.S. this week sanctioned a China-based network of companies and people involved in manufacturing and distributing “ton quantities” of fentanyl, methamphetamine and MDMA precursors. The designations also target two entities and one person based in Canada.
The most recent tri-seal compliance note from the Commerce, Treasury and Justice departments is another sign that the U.S. is increasing its focus on export and sanctions enforcement and of the government’s effort to push companies to voluntarily disclose potential violations, law firms said last week. The firms urged businesses to review each agency's disclosure policy, saying the note could mean increased risks for companies that choose not to disclose.
DOJ rolled out indictments on June 23 against four China-based chemical manufacturing companies and eight employees and executives at these companies for knowingly making, selling and distributing precursor chemicals for fentanyl proliferation in the U.S. Filing three cases at two New York district courts, Attorney General Merrick Garland said the suits stand as an effort to target "every step of the movement, manufacturing, and sale of fentanyl -- from start to finish." The cases mark the first time a Chinese company or individual has been charged for trafficking fentanyl precursor chemicals.
DOJ rolled out indictments on June 23 against four China-based chemical manufacturing companies and eight employees and executives at these companies for knowingly making, selling and distributing precursor chemicals for fentanyl proliferation in the U.S. Filing three cases at two New York district courts, Attorney General Merrick Garland said the suits stand as an effort to target "every step of the movement, manufacturing, and sale of fentanyl -- from start to finish." The cases mark the first time a Chinese company or individual has been charged for trafficking fentanyl precursor chemicals.