Asia-based companies should make sure they’re doing enough due diligence to take into account heightened Western focus on Russia-related sanctions evasion, Ropes and Gray said in a Nov. 5 client alert, particularly because of their “geographical proximity” to Russia. The firm pointed to guidance on sanctions evasion recently released by the Group of 7 nations (see 2409250004), adding that Asian companies “are at higher risk for diversion as Russia is ever more reliant on complex transnational structures to circumvent sanctions and procure critical technology and manufacturing components” for its weapons.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned Prointer ITSS general director Vladimir Perisic and Elpring d.o.o. Laktasi for their ties to a “corrupt patronage network” that supports the president of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the country’s sanctions evasion attempts. OFAC said President Milorad Dodik and his son use Perisic and others to control private companies that are awarded government contracts, including Elpring.
The possible North Korean deployment of troops to Russia, as well as Russia’s transfer of missile technology to North Korea, would violate multiple U.N. sanctions resolutions and shouldn’t be allowed, the U.S. and several allies said in a Nov. 6 joint statement. They said they have “grave concerns” about Russia’s use of North Korean troops against Ukraine and are “deeply concerned” about potential shipments of nuclear or ballistic missile-related technology from Russia to North Korea.
Former President Donald Trump is projected to win reelection and Republicans took back control of the Senate, setting up a possible repeat of the first Trump-led government that frequently used export controls to counter China and didn’t hesitate to levy threats at traditional U.S. trading partners.
Turkish national Taskin Torlak was arrested Nov. 2 for allegedly conspiring to violate U.S. sanctions by scheming to ship oil from Venezuela to benefit the country's state-owned oil and natural gas company Petroleos de Venezuela, DOJ announced.
A Virginia-based freight consolidation and forwarding business and two of its executives were charged with conspiracy to violate the Export Control Reform Act after they allegedly exported goods and technology to Russia by transshipping them through Turkey, Finland and Kazakhstan, DOJ announced Nov. 4.
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas, urged the Commerce Department Nov. 5 to investigate whether China’s Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) violated U.S. export controls.
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Members of the multilateral Missile Technology Control Regime need to do more to account for rising innovation and commercialization in the global space technology industry, which may be making export control enforcement more challenging and increasing the risk of missile proliferation, researchers said in a recent report.
Maros Sefcovic of Slovakia, the EU’s candidate for trade and economic security commissioner, said this week he would “double down” on defending European industry against “increasingly widespread” unfair practices.