The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Connecticut charged a group of European individuals and entities with violating U.S. export laws by trying to ship a dual-use export-controlled item to Russia, the office announced Oct. 19, the day after the indictment was unsealed. The investigation was coordinated by the Task Force KleptoCapture, an interagency group that also works with other countries to enforce U.S. sanctions.
Five Russian nationals and two oil traders were charged in a 12-count indictment unsealed Oct. 19 for their role in a global procurement, smuggling and money laundering network, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York announced. The Russian nationals are Yury Orekhov, Artem Uss, Svetlana Kuzurgasheva, Timofey Telegin and Sergey Tulyakov. The oil traders are Juan Fernando Serrano Ponce and Juan Carlos Soto. The oil traders allegedly brokered illegal oil deals for a Venezuelan state-owned oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela, as part of the scheme.
Truphone agreed to divest Russian investors and pay a $600,000 fine for failing to disclose accurate ownership stakes held by foreign entities and transferring control of FCC licenses and international section 214 authorization without agency approval. In April, the FCC had proposed a fine of $660,639. The FCC said sanctioned Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich invested in the company and Truphone didn’t provide timely notice or seek commission approval. “Since 2011, Truphone’s ownership and reports regarding its foreign ownership have changed over time without accurate and requisite reporting to the Commission,” the Enforcement Bureau said in the Oct. 20 order. A Truphone spokesperson didn't respond to a request for comment.
The U.S. this week threatened sanctions on any parties involved in transferring drones from Iran to Russia, saying it has “abundant evidence” that Russia is using the drones to strike Ukraine. The State Department said the U.S., along with the U.K. and France, raised the issue at an Oct. 19 U.N. Security Council meeting, adding that unmanned aerial vehicles from Iran are being used to target civilians and civilian infrastructure.
The Bureau of Industry and Security on Oct. 19 completed interagency review for a final rule that would implement certain export control decisions made during the 2021 Wassenaar Arrangement cycle. The rule, sent for review Aug. 4 (see 2208080021), will revise the Commerce Control List and corresponding parts of the Export Administration Regulations, including License Exception Adjusted Peak Performance, BIS said.
The EU is considering another set of sanctions on Iranian individuals and entities shortly after adding more names to its Iran restrictions list following the rising number of Iranian-made drones used in Russian attacks throughout Ukraine, Bloomberg reported Oct. 18. Ukraine has proffered several reports and intelligence assessments showing Iran likely delivered the drones to Russia during the summer to be used in the war in Ukraine. Iran has denied providing the drones, and EU member states want more proof before adding Iranian sanctions, Bloomberg said. The EU likely will make progress toward added sanctions this week, the report said.
The State Department on Oct. 18 completed an interagency review for a proposed rule that would amend the International Traffic in Arms Regulations to expand the definition of activities that are not exports, reexports, retransfers or temporary imports. The rule was sent for interagency review Oct. 6.
The Bureau of Industry and Security this week renewed the temporary denial order for Moscow-based air cargo carrier Aviastar. BIS first suspended the export privileges of the Russian cargo charter airline in April (see 2204210043), barring it from participating in transactions with items subject to the Export Administration Regulations. The agency renewed the denial order for another 180 days after finding Aviastar continued to illegally operate aircraft subject to the EAR, including for flights between Russia and China.
A bipartisan Senate bill unveiled this week could require the U.S. to impose “robust” human rights sanctions against criminal groups in Haiti. The Haiti Criminal Collusion Transparency Act of 2022, sponsored by Sens. Bob Menendez, D-N.J.; Marco Rubio, R-Fla.; and Tim Kaine, D-Va., would lead to the imposition of Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act sanctions on Haitian gang leaders and the “political and economic elites that support their activities.” The bill also would require the administration to report on gang violence in Haiti and their ties to members of the country's elite.
Although President Joe Biden criticized the Trump administration tariffs on Chinese imports during his campaign, and although his treasury secretary repeatedly said they contribute to inflation and some of them are harmful, trade lobbyists for UPS and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce said the tariffs are largely here to stay.