Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo met with a group of sanctions experts last week to discuss the “effects and successes” of the global sanctions and export controls imposed against Russia, the agency said in a news release. In the “weeks and months ahead,” Adeyemo said the agency will “focus on countering sanctions evasion, including by targeting facilitators and third-country providers that may wittingly or unwittingly help Russia replenish the supplies and material it desperately needs to support its military.” The experts “provided their thoughts on how best to achieve that goal,” Treasury said.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control designated five current or former Bulgarian government officials for "extensive involvement in corruption" in Bulgaria, according to a Feb. 10 press release. OFAC also sanctioned five entities controlled by two of the targeted officials in an action that OFAC said builds on the office's 2021 designations of six Bulgarians and 64 entities (see 2106020026).
The Office of Foreign Assets Control last week issued Syria-related General License 23, which authorizes through 12:01 p.m. EDT Aug. 8 all transactions related to earthquake relief efforts in Syria that would otherwise be prohibited by the Syrian Sanctions Regulations, 31 CFR part 542 (SySR). The license does not authorize importation of petroleum or petroleum products of Syrian origin into the U.S. or any transactions involving any person blocked pursuant to the SySR, other than the Syrian government. U.S. sanctions programs do not target legitimate humanitarian assistance, OFAC said.
The Bureau of Industry and Security added six Chinese entities to the Entity List last week because of their ties to China’s “High Altitude Balloons'' intelligence and reconnaissance activities. BIS said the aerospace and technology entities support China’s military modernization efforts, particularly the People's Liberation Army’s aerospace programs, including “airships and balloons and related materials and components.” The move came days after the U.S. shot down a Chinese surveillance balloon in U.S. airspace.
The State Department can’t track how many voluntary disclosures it receives involving export violations related to defense services because of “limitations” in its IT system and data collection efforts, the Government Accountability Office said in a report last week. GAO said this may be preventing the agency from evaluating trends or risks related to illegal exports.
The U.K. corrected one entry under its Russia sanctions regime, the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation said in a Feb. 9 notice. The entry for Evgeny Shkolov, deputy board chairman of JSC System Operator of the Unified Energy System, was corrected to add the middle name Mikhailovich to one of his alternate names.
The U.K.'s Department for International Trade's Export Control Joint Unit updated its guidance for supplying professional services to an individual linked with Russia. The guidance now provides an overview of Russia service sanctions and discusses compliance, exceptions and licenses, and professional and business services sanctions in effect since Dec. 16. These banned services include advertising services, architectural and engineering services, auditing services and IT consultancy and design services.
The European Council updated various frequently asked questions pages under its Russia sanctions regime. New FAQs on customs-related matters, oblasts, humanitarian aid and circumvention and due diligence were released, adding to the guidance for transactions linked with trade in the Donets, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia regions.
Last year was a “historically busy” period for new trade controls, and that pace “shows few signs of slowing” this year, Gibson Dunn said in a 2022 export control and sanctions recap released this week. The recap provides an overview of last year’s raft of new sanctions and export controls against Russia, China, Iran and others; the Bureau of Industry and Security’s new administrative enforcement policies (see 2206300069 and 2205230018); the State Department’s new compliance program guidelines (see 2212060015 and 2212210049); Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. actions; trade restrictions imposed by the EU and U.K.; and more.
The U.S. and the U.K. sanctioned seven members of the Russia-based cybercrime gang Trickbot, the countries announced Feb 9. The restrictions were simultaneously imposed by both countries in the "first wave of new coordinated action against international cyber crime," the U.K.'s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation said. The designations target Mikhail Iskritskiy, Valentin Karyagin, Vitaliy Kovalev, Maksim Mikhailov, Dmitry Pleshevskiy, Valery Sedletski and Ivan Vakhromeyev.