The Office of Foreign Assets Control announced two separate settlement agreements this week, fining a Switzerland- and a Monaco-based wealth management company for violating U.S. sanctions. OFAC said both companies committed violations due to “deficiencies” in their sanctions compliance practices.
The Bureau of Industry and Security updated its restricted aircraft list with another Iranian-owned and -operated plane after it violated U.S. export controls, the agency said this week. BIS said the U.S.-origin cargo plane -- owned by Saha Airlines, which is operated by the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force -- provided cargo flight services to Russia.
Republicans in the Senate and House last week introduced a bill that would prevent the U.S. from reentering the Iranian nuclear deal until it can certify that Iran hasn’t planned assassination attempts on Americans for five years. The legislation would specifically require the U.S. to continue imposing sanctions against Iran, and prevent the U.S. from issuing any sanctions waivers, until the “Government of Iran ceases to attempt to assassinate United States officials, other United States citizens, and Iranian nationals residing in the United States.” A lawmaker previously called on the Biden administration to withdraw from negotiations under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action after DOJ charged an Iranian military official in a plot to assassinate former U.S. national security adviser John Bolton (see 2208150049).
Although U.S. human rights sanctions against China (see 2204010039) may be imposing some financial consequences, they aren’t convincing Beijing to stop committing abuses, Chris Chivvis, a former State Department sanctions official, said during a webinar last week hosted by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He said the U.S. may need to take a different tack with China if it wants to achieve its policy goals. Chivvis directs Carnegie's American Statecraft Program.
The Bureau of Industry and Security updated its restricted aircraft list with another Iranian-owned and operated plane after it violated U.S. export controls, the agency said. BIS said the cargo plane -- owned by Saha Airlines, which is operated by the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force -- flew into Russia without BIS authorization. Certain activities involving the plane, including maintenance and repair, are now subject to restrictions outlined in General Prohibition 10 of the Export Administration Regulations. The agency added three Iranian-owned planes to the list last week.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control last week updated an Iran-related general license and guidance to expand the types of internet and communications services and exports that can be provided to Iran. Updated General License D2 “dramatically increases” U.S. support for internet freedom in Iran, a State Department official said, adding that the announcement brings U.S. sanctions guidance "in line with changes in modern technology.”
Adam Goldberg, former partner at Simpson Thacher in Hong Kong, has joined Pillsbury Winthrop as a litigation partner in San Francisco, the firm announced. Goldberg's practice will center around issues relating to Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations, commercial bribery, violations of U.S. and Hong Kong securities laws, embezzlement and U.S. sanctions, the firm said. He also advises clients across a host of industries on matters involving the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., sanctions and export controls compliance. Much of his current practice, and practice at Simpson Thacher, revolves around China, though he has experience advising on matters involving South Korea, Japan, Southeast Asia and India, the firm said.
The European Commission updated its Russia sanctions FAQs, releasing a page on the "Import, Purchase & Transfer of Listed Goods." The updated guidance says certain listed goods, including fertilizers, animal feed and various hydrocarbons, can be shipped to third countries. The move is intended to lessen strains on food and energy security given the sanctions on Russia.
The director of national intelligence should study how a potential “supplier partnership arrangement” between China’s Yangtze Memory Technologies Co. and Apple would affect U.S. national security, four senators said in a Sept. 21 bipartisan letter to DNI Avril Haines. The study should assess how China supports YMTC as part of a plan to advance its domestic semiconductor industry, how YMTC potentially helps Chinese firms evade U.S. sanctions and YMTC’s role in China’s civil-military fusion program.
The House this week passed the Russia Cryptocurrency Transparency Act with several sanctions provisions, including one to require the State and Treasury departments to assess how digital currencies are affecting the “effectiveness and enforcement” of U.S. sanctions against Russia. The agencies would also be required to submit to Congress recommendations for “new legislative and regulatory measures” to strengthen the U.S.’s ability to stop digital currencies being used for sanctions evasion.