A Brazilian investment company was fined more than $256 million after pleading guilty to paying millions of dollars in bribes to government officials for contracts, the Justice Department said Oct. 14. J&F Investimentos S.A. pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act when it worked with others to bribe “high-level” Brazilian officials, including an executive at Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Economico e Social (BNDES), Brazil’s state-owned bank.

The United Kingdom Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation issued its quarterly report to Parliament on its operation of the U.K. asset freezing regime, an Oct. 14 notice said. The report contains statistics and information on U.K. sanctions January through March 2020.

The United Kingdom Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation amended one entry under its chemical weapons sanctions and two under its ISIL (Da’esh) and al-Qaida sanctions, Oct. 14 notices said. One amended entry is for Said Said, a “significant figure” in Syria’s chemical weapons programs. The U.K. also amended entries for Jamal Hussein Hassan Zeiniye, leader of the Al-Nusrah Front for the People of the Levant, and Sa'd Bin Sa'd Muhammad Shariyan Al-Ka’Bi under its ISIL (Da’esh) and al-Qaida sanctions.

Switzerland joined the U.S., the United Kingdom, the European Union and others (see 2010050010 and 2009300011) in imposing sanctions against Belarus for the country’s rigged presidential election, the EU Sanctions blog said in a post Oct. 14. Switzerland sanctioned the same 40 officials the EU designated earlier this month. The officials will be subject to asset freezes and travel bans.

The European Union and the United Kingdom sanctioned six Russian Federation officials and one entity for the poisoning of Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny, they said in Oct. 15 news releases. The sanctions target Andrei Veniaminovich Yarin, Sergei Vladilenovich Kiriyenko, Sergei Ivanovich Menyailo, Aleksandr Vasilievich Bortnikov, Pavel Anatolievich Popov and Aleksei Yurievich Krivoruchko. The sanctions also target Russia’s State Scientific Research Institute for Organic Chemistry and Technology.

The European Union on Oct. 15 sanctioned a Russian businessman for violating the United Nations arms embargo against Libya. The sanctions target Yevgeniy Viktorovich Prigozhin, who has “close links” to the Wagner Group, the EU said, a Russian paramilitary organization sanctioned by the U.S. The EU said Prigozhin supports the group’s activities in Libya, including delivering weapons and sending mercenaries into the country. He also is a funder of the Russian Internet Research Agency, which is trying to influence the U.S. presidential election,

The White House released a national strategy for critical and emerging technologies that it said will better synchronize agency efforts amid technology competition with China. The strategy builds on export control efforts carried out by the Commerce Department, a senior administration official said, and will allow government offices to better align their strategies as the U.S. restricts Chinese access to sensitive U.S. technologies.

European wine and spirits imports have been hurt more than any other industry outside aerospace in the Airbus-Boeing dispute, and the trade group representing those importers is asking for Europe and the U.S. to agree to a 180-day truce and serious settlement negotiations. The National Association of Beverage Importers was reacting to the announcement that the European Union can add tariffs to $4 billion in U.S. exports; the U.S. is already taxing hundreds of European products at 25% as part of its retaliation for Airbus subsidies. Between 15% tariffs on aircraft and 25% tariffs on other products, the U.S. is targeting $7.5 billion in imports.

Turkey recently announced new procedures involving imports of dual-use items and technologies related to weapons of mass destruction, Herdem, an Istanbul-based law firm, said in an Oct. 13 post. Turkey’s trade ministry will approve all certificates of import and end-use requests submitted “from the importer by the exporting country,” the post said. Certificates will be valid for six months without an extension, it said. Turkey will also require a “permit letter” if the goods are transferred to a third country.

The Canada government issued the following trade-related notices as of Oct. 14 (some may also be given separate headlines):