Sanctions and export controls attorney Susan Kovarovics, a former partner at Bryan Cave, has joined Akin Gump as an international trade partner in the Washington, D.C., office, the firm announced. Kovarovics' practice centers around compliance issues involving International Traffic in Arms Regulations, Export Administration Regulations, Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctions and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the firm said.
The European Commission has undertaken a study of the economic impact of EU sanctions, which the commission said is "insufficiently understood." The study, which seeks feedback by July 1, will "provide a review and critical evaluation of the existing research related to the topic of the study," create a detailed methodology for looking at the economic impact of the EU sanctions and test this methodology on various selected case studies to show its usefulness. The commission will look at the consequences of the sanctions for listed individuals and entities, third country economies under which listed individuals and entities are linked, EU economic operators' business choices, and trade and investments between the EU and third countries.
Alexander Abramov, co-founder of Russian steel company Evraz, filed a case at the Federal Court of Australia challenging his placement on Australia's Russia sanctions list, The Guardian reported this month. Abramov lives in Switzerland, has made an estimated $6 billion from the Russian steel industry and was sanctioned by Australia in April. Counsel for Abramov told The Guardian that the billionaire "doesn’t satisfy the definition of a person who should be on the sanctions list" since he does not have the "requisite influence" on the Russian regime to qualify as a sanctioned individual. Abramov does not have business in Australia, but he does reportedly own property in New Zealand.
The State Department is seeking public comments on an information collection related to Part 130 of the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, which deals with political contributions, fees and commissions relating to sales of defense articles and defense services. Under the ITAR, defense exporters shipping certain goods worth more than $500,000 to a foreign armed service, international organization or others must notify the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls about certain political contributions or fees associated with the sale, the agency said. Comments are due July 28. DDTC last year saw an uptick in Part 130 violations (see 2109290056).
The recently revised outbound investment screening bill, proposed by a bipartisan group of lawmakers this month (see 2206140048), makes it “more likely” that new investment-related export control procedures will become law, Sidley Austin said in an alert. The firm expects new outbound investment controls to be passed as part of the expansive, bipartisan China legislation, as part of a future bill or potentially as an executive order by the White House.
The U.K. amended one entry under its Myanmar sanctions regime, the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation announced June 24. OFSI updated the entry for Sins Avia Trading House, a Russian company responsible for supplying aircraft parts and maintenance for the Myanmar Armed Forces since the February 2021 coup.
The Commerce Department published its spring 2022 regulatory agenda for the Bureau of Industry and Security, including two new mentions of rules that could result in new emerging technology export controls.
The U.S. on June 28 announced a host of new sanctions targeting Russia’s defense industrial base, including export restrictions against entities helping Moscow evade U.S. export controls and for illegally acquiring controlled U.S. items for Iran. The financial sanctions, announced by the Treasury and State Department, target more than 100 entities and 50 people, including Russia’s State Corporation Rostec, a “massive” state-owned technological, aerospace and military-industrial enterprise. Treasury also issued several new general licenses.
The U.S. and other G-7 member states plan to soon announce a host of new sanctions and trade restrictions against Russia, including new restrictions targeting Russia’s industrial and technology sectors. The countries also plan to announce enforcement actions relating to Russia’s sanctions evasion efforts, which will include new additions to the Commerce Department’s Entity List.
The U.K. amended 58 entries -- 20 people and 38 entities -- under its Russia sanctions regime and corrected another entry, the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation said in a June 24 notice. OFSI updated various elements in the 58 amended entries. The individuals include Russian businesspeople and media executives, and the entities are banks, manufacturers and research institutions. The corrected entry is for Alexey Ivanovich Isaykin, Volga-Dnepr Group president and board member.