Russia is using the United Arab Emirates as a major transhipment hub to import controlled goods, a Treasury Department official said last week. UAE companies exported more than $18 million worth of goods to sanctioned Russian entities between July and November, said Elizabeth Rosenberg, assistant secretary for terrorist financing and financial crimes. They also exported more than $5 million worth of U.S.-origin and export controlled goods to Russia June to November. Those items included “semiconductor devices” used by Russia to fight its war in Ukraine.
The Bureau of Industry and Security will increase the number of penalties it issues against corporations for export violations this year, an effort it hopes will lead to improved industry compliance, the top export BIS enforcement official said last week. DOJ also will concentrate more resources on targeting export violators, a top agency official said, and plans to significantly expand its Export Control Section.
Russia could run out of money in 2024 and need funds from "friendly" nations to continue to weather the sanctions storm, billionaire Oleg Deripaska said March 2 at the Krasnoyarsk Economic Forum in Serbia, Bloomberg reported. "There will be no money already next year," Deripaska, founder of aluminum giant Rusal International, said. "We will need foreign investors." Russian authorities are already planning to hike budget revenue with changes to how it taxes oil companies, and is considering a one-time levy on commodity producers, the report said.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week published previously issued general licenses under its Russian Harmful Foreign Activities Sanctions Regulations. The full text of each license appears in the notice.
President Joe Biden this week extended national emergencies that authorize certain sanctions related to Venezuela, Zimbabwe and Russian actions in Ukraine. Each was renewed for one year.
The U.S. this week sanctioned six entities and 20 vessels that have helped transport or sell Iranian petroleum or petrochemical products. The designations target companies based in China, Vietnam, the United Arab Emirates and Iran, including China-based Global Marine Ship Management. Co. and Shanghai Xuanrun Shipping. Co., the State Department said. The 20 designated ships have ties to Shanghai Xuanrun Shipping, Vietnam-based Golden Lotus Oil Gas and Real Estate Joint Stock Company, and UAE-based Swedish Management Co.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned eight Mexican companies linked to a scam involving “timeshare fraud” on behalf of Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion, a “violent” Mexican drug trafficking organization. The agency also issued new guidance to alert industry about the scam and other schemes, including one involving people falsely claiming to represent OFAC and requesting payments through phone calls and emails.
Western democracies should pursue new restrictions on technology researchers or risk further falling behind China in global technological competition, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute said in a report that it released this week. The institute warned that China’s dominant research position could allow that country to “gain a stranglehold on the global supply of certain critical technologies.”
U.S. enforcement agencies this week issued their first joint “compliance note” to warn industry about common Russian sanctions evasion efforts. The note -- from the Commerce, Treasury and Justice departments -- outlines methods Russia uses to circumvent trade restrictions, including through intermediaries or transshipment points, and describes a range of red flags businesses should monitor.
The Bureau of Industry and Security this week added 37 entities to the Entity List for a range of activities the agency said threaten U.S. national security, including for supporting Russia’s war effort, sending controlled items to China’s military and aiding companies already listed on the Entity List. The entities -- located in Belarus, Myanmar, China, Pakistan, Russia and Taiwan -- will be subject to a license requirement for all items subject to the Export Administration Regulations with varying license application review policies. BIS also modified 10 existing Chinese entries on the Entity List. The additions and changes took effect March 2.