The European Commission this week proposed to reform its customs system, including by creating a single interface called the EU Customs Data Hub that will allow for the submission of all customs information on imports. Under the plan, the EU also would create an EU Customs Authority, which it said would boost cooperation between customs surveillance and law enforcement authorities at the EU and member state level, and would eliminate the de minimis threshold for imports under $162.
A series of export control indictments announced this week, including several for illegal shipments to China and Russia, only scratched the surface of prosecutions expected to be brought as part of the new Disruptive Technology Strike Force, said Matthew Axelrod, the Bureau of Industry and Security's top export enforcement official. “It’s just the beginning,” Axelrod said during a May 17 law conference hosted by the American Bar Association, Mayer Brown and American University. “I think you can expect to continue to see actions come out from the strike force as this work continues.”
The U.K. corrected or amended various entries under its Russia, Global Anti-Corruption and Syria sanctions regimes. Under the Russia sanctions list, the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation amended the listing for Roman Nikolaevich Lepa, a member of the Donetsk People's Council. OFSI also corrected the listing for Zvonko Veselinovic under the anti-corruption sanctions regime, and amended the entry for Damascus Cham Holding under the Syria sanctions regime.
The European Commission this month added a new frequently asked question covering the "Asset Freeze and Prohibition to Make Funds and Economic Resources Available" to its Russia sanctions FAQs. The entry asks whether a non-sanctioned entity can request permission to use derogations on trade in fertilizers if it does not consider itself to be owned by a sanctioned party, but its counterparts do. "Would that amount to an acknowledgement of ownership and/or control by the sanctioned person over the company?” the FAQ asks.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week published a previously issued general license under its Global Magnitsky Sanctions Regulations. The notice includes the full text of the license, which authorizes certain transactions involving Tabacos USA, Tabacalera del Este or any entity they own by 50% or more (see 2303310033).
U.S. and EU sanctions authorities met April 26-28 to share best practices surrounding sanctions “design, implementation and compliance,” the Treasury Department said May 16. During the “technical” meetings -- held between officials with the Office of Foreign Assets Control, the European External Action Service and the European Commission -- the agencies “identified ways to align” sanctions implementation, promote compliance, improve enforcement and “address shared foreign policy challenges,” Treasury said. They also discussed ways to ensure sanctions don’t prevent humanitarian aid. “The partners have been working together to provide coordinated information to the compliance community and will continue to update and maintain their sanctions-related lists and published guidance,” Treasury said.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned Russian national Mikhail Matveev for helping to launch cyberattacks against U.S. law enforcement, businesses and critical infrastructure. Matveev is a “central figure” in the development and deployment of several Russia-linked “ransomware variants,” OFAC said, including Hive, LockBit and Babuk. OFAC said the designation was announced alongside an indictment by DOJ and a $10 million reward by the State Department for information that leads to Matveev’s arrest or conviction.
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The Group of 7 countries likely will discuss sanctions, trade and a host of other issues at the upcoming summit in Japan, but the most consequential topic may surround the group’s emerging “de-risking” policy toward China, experts said this week. Several said they expect the G-7 countries to end the summit by releasing more information on the approach, although they also noted that not all Europeans yet agree with the strategy.
DOJ this week unsealed indictments of six people for trying to illegally ship sensitive items from the U.S., including shipments of dual-use technologies and aircraft parts to Russia, isostatic graphite to Iran and trade secrets to China. The charges are the first enforcement actions brought by the Disruptive Technology Strike Force, a group launched by DOJ and the Commerce Department in February to investigate and prosecute criminal export violations (see 2302160019).