Although the State Department is working to better streamline its export licensing process, the agency is facing increasingly complicated licensing decisions and a large volume of applications, said Sarah Heidema, policy director for the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls. She said DDTC has “thousands of licenses pending adjudication” at “any given time,” and some require extensive analysis.
Sharath Patil, former associate attorney at Diaz Trade Law, has joined the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control as a sanctions enforcement officer, according to his LinkedIn page. Before working at Diaz Trade Law, Patil was research director for international trade at the nonprofit advocacy group Public Citizen.
The Council of Europe recently began a review of EU member state practices for identifying individuals and entities holding effective control of sanctioned companies. The council mentioned the study during a recent conference it helped organize alongside the European Commission, saying the conference "aimed to provide an opportunity to exchange practices and share experience about real cases of identification of persons holding effective control and establishment of firewalls." The study is part of a broader effort by the council to improve the abilities of the Czech Republic, Latvia, Malta and others in complying with EU sanctions against Russia.
The Bureau of Industry and Security is extending the public comment period for an information collection related to “miscellaneous licensing responsibilities and enforcement” (see 2211090013). The collection describes 10 miscellaneous activities associated with exporting controlled goods, including the exchanging of documents among parties in a transaction to “ensure that each party understands its obligations under U.S. law,” BIS said. Other activities involve writing export control statements on shipping documents or reporting “unforeseen changes in shipping and disposition of exported commodities.” The BIS Office of Export Enforcement and CBP need these activities to document export transactions, enforce export regulations and protect U.S. national security, BIS said. The agency is allowing for an additional 30 days of public comments. Comments had been due Jan. 9.
The Supreme Court of the U.S. held oral arguments on Jan. 17 over Turkish state-owned Halkbank's claims that the U.S. judicial system does not have the jurisdiction to hear criminal cases against foreign governments and their state-owned entities. Halkbank is attempting to shirk prosecution over its efforts to help Iran evade U.S. sanctions in violation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. The bank's arguments received a mixed reaction from the Supreme Court, with numerous justices expressing doubt over the plaintiff's claims that it is immune from criminal prosecution under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (Turkiye Halk Bankasi A.S. v. U.S., #21-1450).
Two businessmen -- Russian national Vladislav Osipov and British national Richard Masters -- were charged for their roles in a sanctions evasion and money laundering scheme connected with the ownership and operation of the $90 million superyacht Tango, DOJ announced. The yacht is owned by sanctioned Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg. Per the terms of the indictments unsealed Jan. 20 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Osipov and Masters are accused of conspiracy to defraud the U.S. and commit offenses against the U.S., violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and money laundering, DOJ said.
The G-7 price cap on Russian oil, along with other trade restrictions, appears to be having a significant impact on the global price of Russian energy, experts said during an event hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies last week. But they also said it remains unclear whether the cap is limiting Russia’s export volumes and said it’s too early to tell how well industry is complying with the cap’s service restrictions.
The Treasury Department last week issued an order barring certain funds transfers involving a Hong Kong-registered cryptocurrency exchange due to its ties to illicit Russian financing. The order, which is the first issued under new authority granted to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network under the Combating Russian Money Laundering Act, prohibits “certain transmittals of funds” involving Bitzlato by a range of financial institutions.
Jonathan Yet Wing Soong of Castro Valley, California, pleaded guilty Jan. 17 to violating export controls by conspiring to ship aeronautics software to a Beijing university, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California announced. Soong admitted to violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, making him subject to a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control removed one individual, Hanna Khalifeh, across three separate entries from its Specially Designated Nationals List, according to a Jan. 19 announcement. Khalifeh was listed on the SDN List for counterterrorism reasons. OFAC didn't immediately provide more information.