The Netherlands recently arrested the suspected developer of Tornado Cash, a virtual currency mixer sanctioned by the U.S. this month (see 2208080031 and 2208100036). The Netherlands said the 29-year-old man is suspected of “concealing criminal financial flows and facilitating money laundering” through Tornado Cash services. The Netherlands said it has “not ruled out” other arrests related to the case.
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The EU needs to better diversify its trading partners and reform its anti-coercion instrument to protect itself from Chinese sanctions, Hinrich Foundation researchers said in a report this week. The EU also should establish a new multilateral economic security office to study and better respond to sanctions and trade restrictions imposed by third countries, the report said.
The Biden administration should withdraw from nuclear negotiations with Iran after DOJ charged an Iranian military official in a plot to assassinate John Bolton, a former U.S. national security adviser, Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, said. “The latest ‘deal’ reportedly includes significant concessions on the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) probe of Iran’s past nuclear work and [Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] sanctions,” McCaul said in Aug. 14 statement. “Between these dangerous proposals and the mounting evidence of Iran’s terrorist activity on U.S. soil, I urge the administration to finally withdraw from talks and shift its focus to compelling Iran to stop its malign activities.” A State Department spokesperson didn't comment. McCaul previously has urged the administration to abandon any attempts at returning to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (see 2208040012).
China’s foeign ministry last week announced sanctions on a Lithuanian official for visiting Taiwan. The visit by Agne Vaiciukeviciute, Lithuania’s deputy minister of transport and communication, “tramples on the one-China principle, seriously interferes in China’s internal affairs, and undermines China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” the ministry said. China said it will sanction Vaiciukeviciute and suspend all forms of exchange with Lithuania's Ministry of Transport and Communications. China last week also sanctioned House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., for her visit to Taiwan (see 2208050043).
Australia plans to designate Russian gold an “import sanctioned good” under its autonomous sanctions regime, the country said Aug. 15. The designation will restrict imports and transportation of Russian gold by Australians, including gold in unwrought, semi-manufactured or powder forms. Australia said its period of public consultation on the sanctions will close Aug. 29.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Aug. 15 sanctioned three Liberian government officials for public corruption. The designations target Nathaniel McGill, minister of state for presidential affairs and chief of staff to President George Weah; Sayma Syrenius Cephus, the solicitor general and Liberia's chief prosecutor; and Bill Twehway, managing director of the National Port Authority.
The U.S. won't remove sanctions from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in return for Iran's return to compliance under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, State Department spokesperson Ned Price told reporters Aug. 15. Price said the U.S. is still willing to pursue a "mutual return to compliance" to the JCPOA, but Iran must drop some of its "extraneous" demands that "go beyond" the scope of the nuclear talks, including a request for the U.S. to lift IRGC's designation as a foreign terrorist organization.
The U.S. should better regulate the cryptocurrency industry to increase sanctions compliance, but not in a way that inhibits innovation, companies and trade groups told the Treasury Department in comments released this month. Some commenters said Treasury should issue more guidance to help firms better understand their compliance obligations and help digital assets from being used to evade global sanctions.
The State Department Aug. 11 completed an interagency review for a final rule that would make certain corrections and clarifications to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations. The rule, which was sent for interagency review in July, was mentioned in the agency’s spring regulatory agenda (see 2207050015).