The White House last week released its digital assets development framework to implement a March executive order aimed to address risks in crypto and other digital marketplaces (see 2203090067). The framework came several months after companies and trade groups told the administration the U.S. should better regulate the cryptocurrency industry to increase sanctions compliance but not in a way that inhibits innovation (see 2208150028).

China last week announced sanctions on two defense industry CEOs for arms sales to Taiwan. The sanctions target Raytheon's Gregory Hayes and Boeing Global Services' Theodore Colbert, after both companies were involved in the Sept. 2 State Department approval of more than $1 billion in arms sales to Taiwan (see 2209060018). The U.S. should “stop arms sales to Taiwan and military contact with Taiwan, and stop creating factors that could lead to tensions in the Taiwan Strait,” a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said during a Sept. 16 news conference. A Boeing spokesperson declined to comment, and a Raytheon spokesperson didn’t respond to a request for comment. China in February sanctioned Raytheon and Lockheed Martin under its Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law in response to the companies selling arms to Taiwan (see 2202230013).

The U.N. Security Council this week amended two entries on its sanctions list. The changes revise identifying information for North Korea-based Singwang Economics and Trading General Corporation and China-based Weihai World-Shipping Freight.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control has designated 22 individuals and two entities connected with Russia's war in Ukraine. The designated individuals have furthered Russia's objectives in Ukraine, both before and during the invasion, OFAC said in a Sept. 15 notice. “Today we’re taking steps to further degrade Russia’s ability to rebuild its military, hold perpetrators of violence accountable, and further financially isolate Putin," Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a news release.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control designated one Zimbabwean and removed 11 others from the Specially Designated Nationals List under the Zimbabwe sanctions program, which targets human rights abusers and underminers of democratic processes, according to an OFAC news release.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Sept. 15 issued two determinations to restrict certain quantum computing-related activities with Russia. One directive, effective immediately, imposes sanctions on Russia's quantum computing sector. The second directive, which will take effect at 12:01 a.m. EDT on Oct. 15, will prohibit the exportation, reexportation, sale or supply of quantum computing services to Russia. The prohibitions aim to "further degrade Russia’s ability to reconstitute its military with advanced technology," OFAC said.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned 10 individuals and two entities for their roles in conducting malicious cyber acts, it said in a Sept. 14 notice. The designations are part of a joint action with the State Department, DOJ, FBI, U.S. Cyber Command, NSA, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. The designated individuals and entities are affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). OFAC said the action "continues the series of designations that aim to protect U.S. persons from ransomware activity, facilitators of ransomware activity, and other cybercrime."

The Biden administration is crafting a sanctions package to potentially deter China from invading Taiwan, and Taipei is urging the EU to do the same, Reuters reported Sept. 14. While details are not yet known because discussions are at an “early stage,” the report said the measures could eventually expand existing U.S. sanctions against Beijing, including trade restrictions on sensitive technologies. The White House didn’t comment.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Sept. 13 updated a narcotics-related entity on its Specially Designated Nationals List. The agency updated information for Hassein Eduardo Figueroa Gomez, first sanctioned in 2012 (see 12041305) for ties to a Mexican drug cartel.

The U.S. and allies should impose Magnitsky-style sanctions against Chinese artificial intelligence surveillance company Hikvision for its role in human rights violations, said Dahlia Peterson, a research analyst at Georgetown University's Center for Security and Emerging Technology. Although the sanctions would “inflame” U.S.-China tensions, Peterson said they would help increase economic pressure on the company, which is already on the Commerce Department’s Entity List.