The State Department is offering up to a $7 million reward for information leading to the arrest or conviction of Artem Aleksandrovich Uss, a Russian national who allegedly tried to violate U.S. export controls and sanctions. The agency said Uss used German industrial equipment company Nord-Deutsche Industrieanlagenbau GmbH to illegally export millions of dollars worth of military and sensitive dual-use technologies from the U.S. to Russia. He was also accused of using the U.S. financial system for payments related to the smuggling of millions of barrels of Venezuelan oil.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned 11 companies and eight people connected to the Alexander Lukashenko-led government in Belarus and what OFAC said is its “brutal suppression” of civil society, corruption and complicity in Russia’s war against Ukraine. The designations target various state-controlled firms and others supporting the Lukashenko regime.
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The U.S. this week announced new sanctions and export controls against a host of companies and people for violating export restrictions against Russia, including a Belgian businessman and his defense component procurement network. Along with new Treasury Department sanctions, DOJ said it was preparing to release two indictments against the man, Hans De Geetere, and the Bureau of Industry and Security added De Geetere, his affiliated companies and other unrelated parties to the Entity List for illegally supplying Russia’s military and defense industrial base.
The European Council on Dec. 4 extended by three years, until Dec. 8, 2026, its EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime pertaining to individuals and entities responsible for perpetrating human rights abuses around the world, the council announced. The sanctions cover 67 people and 20 entities and include a travel ban and asset freeze. The council said that "[e]xisting restrictive measures (sanctions) will continue to be reviewed annually."
The U.K.'s Solicitors Regulation Authority fined British law firm Ashfords LLP about $128,000 for violating the country's anti-money laundering and terrorist financing regulations. The U.K. said Ashfords, in helping a property investment company conduct a transaction, failed to discover or act on a potential link between the company and one of its sanctioned beneficial owners.
The Bureau of Industry and Security has released the beta version of its new website as it looks to officially replace its current site, which officials have called “dated” (see 2310310059). The agency said the beta site is an “in-progress version that incorporates new tools to access and use BIS regulations” but results “from this beta site may be inaccurate or incomplete and should not be relied upon for compliance with the” Export Administration Regulations.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week updated one entry on its Specially Designated Nationals List that is listed for being a Russia-related secondary sanctions risk. The change updates identifying information for Meroe Gold Co. LTD, which was sanctioned in 2020 for being a subsidiary of M Invest, a Russian company owned by now deceased Russian oligarch Yevgeniy Prigozhin.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned three former Sudanese officials who are undermining the peace, security and stability of Sudan. The designations target Taha Osman Ahmed al-Hussei, a former state minister, Salah Abdallah Mohamed Salah, a former “high-ranking” government official, and Mohamed Etta Elmoula Abbas, a former Sudanese Ambassador and leader of Sudan’s National Intelligence and Security Service. All three worked under the government led by former President Omar al-Bashir, who was ousted in a coup in 2019, and have tried to help return the al-Bashir regime to power.
The Bureau of Industry and Security added 42 parties to the Entity List for helping to illegally supply parts and drones to Russia’s military industrial base, performing contracts for Russian government entities or for doing business with sanctioned companies. The companies and people added to the list are located in China, Cyprus, Germany, Kazakhstan, the Netherlands, Russia and the United Arab Emirates.