Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent denied June 11 that the Trump administration has agreed to relax controls on chip exports to China in return for China curbing its own restrictions on rare earth exports.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week fined California-based venture capital firm GVA Capital more than $215 million for allegedly violating U.S. sanctions against Russia and for failing to comply with an OFAC subpoena. The firm knowingly managed an investment for sanctioned Russian oligarch Suleiman Kerimov, OFAC said.

The European Commission on June 11 imposed countervailing duties ranging from 3.7% to 8.1% on fiber-optic cables from India. The commission said the duties were imposed following an anti-subsidy investigation that found that Indian exports are harming the EU industry. The duties come in addition to antidumping duties on the same products and AD/CVD on Chinese fiber-optic cables.

DOJ's Office of the Deputy Attorney General released new guidance for Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement after President Donald Trump earlier this year paused FCPA enforcement to come up with new enforcement guidelines (see 2502120051). The memo laid out criteria for future FCPA cases and said prosecutors should prioritize the following four factors: the "total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations," "safeguarding fair opportunities for U.S. companies," advancing U.S. national security and investigations of "serious misconduct."

DOJ announced last week that it opened a civil forfeiture action in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against more than $7.74 million allegedly laundered on behalf of the North Korean government. The funds were initially "restrained" as part of an indictment against North Korean banker Sim Hyon Sop, who was allegedly conspiring with North Korean information technology workers who illegally "amassed millions in cryptocurrency" as a means of evading sanctions on North Korea, DOJ said.

Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., introduced a bill June 10 that would require the State Department to designate the Muslim Brotherhood a foreign terrorist organization.

Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., co-chairman of the House’s Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, said June 10 that he plans to reintroduce a bill that would sanction foreign entities and individuals who directly engage in transnational repression.

Sens. Cory Booker, D-N.J., and Jerry Moran, R-Kan., introduced a bill June 10 that could make it easier for Cyprus to buy U.S. defense equipment.

As lawmakers consider imposing new sanctions on Russia, they should ensure they don’t hinder the Trump administration’s ability to negotiate a deal to end the Russia-Ukraine war, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said June 11.

The U.S. and China reached an agreement for Beijing to rein in export curbs on critical minerals, and for the U.S. to "provide to China what was agreed to," President Donald Trump said June 11, offering few details about the substance of the deal.