The Financial Action Task Force officially suspended Russia's membership, the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network told U.S. banks this month. The FATF -- which establishes international standards for financial institutions to combat terrorist financing, money laundering and weapons proliferation -- noted Russia’s “actions unacceptably run counter to the FATF core principles aiming to promote security, safety, and the integrity of the global financial system,” FinCEN said.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned three people in Bosnia and Herzegovina for “undermining stability and perpetuating corruption.” The designations target Osman Mehmedagic, director general of the country’s Intelligence Security Agency; Dragan Stankovic, director of the Republika Srpska Administration for Geodetic and Property Affairs; and Edin Gacanin, “one of the world’s most prolific drug traffickers.” The three “constitute a threat to regional stability, institutional trust, and the aspirations of those seeking democratic governance in the Western Balkans,” Brian Nelson, Treasury’s undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said March 15.
The Census Bureau and CBP this week announced new reporting requirements for exporters sending certain chip-related items to China under a temporary general license or “authorization letter” from the Bureau of Industry and Security. Electronic filers of export information must now use one of Census’ two new license codes in the Automated Export System when using a BIS authorization that exempts them from certain licensing requirements under the agency’s sweeping China chip controls released in October (see 2210070049).
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. is placing a significant focus on investments that could present data or cybersecurity risks, said CFIUS head Paul Rosen and FBI official Cynthia Kaiser. Rosen also said CFIUS continues to actively pursue non-notified deals and said the administration is still discussing the idea of an outbound investment review regime.
Candace Goforth, former policy director for the State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls, joined Content Enablers as the practice lead of its trade advisory services. Goforth, who said she will close her practice at Goforth Trade Advisors, will manage Content Enablers’ export compliance consultants and will advise clients on compliance programs, jurisdiction and classification assessments, submitting license applications and more, the company said.
The European Council extended until Sept. 15 sanctions on people and entities responsible for undermining the sovereignty of Ukraine. The sanctions apply to 1,473 people and 205 entities.
The European Parliamentary Research Service released a briefing covering a timeline of EU sanctions on Russia, including an analysis of the sanctions, their effectiveness and their economic impact.
Arms shipments to Europe have “risen sharply” due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute said in a March 13 report. Many of the exports have come from the U.S., the report said, which accounted for 40% of global arms exports from 2018 to 2022. The report also highlighted a steep decline in Russian arms shipments, mostly due to Western sanctions, although Moscow increased its arms exports to China by 39% and to Egypt by 44% from 2018 to 2022. Russian arms exports to India during that same time period fell by 37%.
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Democrats and Republicans applauded the Australia-U.K.-U.S. (AUKUS) partnership announcement this week, saying the delivery of nuclear-powered submarines to Australia will help shore up security in the Indo-Pacific 2303130035). But lawmakers also said the U.S. should do more to make sure it can easily share sensitive technology within the group, adding that they would support legislation that would revise U.S. defense export regulations.