The Directorate of Defense Trade Controls expects to increase its end-user checks on sensitive defense exports after the transfer of gun export controls from the State Department to the Commerce Department was finalized earlier this year, the agency said. The transfer -- which placed Commerce in charge of export controls for firearms, ammunition and other defense items -- will free up DDTC to conduct more thorough post-shipment checks as part of its Blue Lantern process, the agency’s end-use monitoring program.
To operate in the Netherlands, cryptocurrency providers must establish sanctions compliance controls, a June 11 EU Sanctions blog post said. The regulation, announced last month, calls for providers to register with the Dutch Central Bank, which requires “adequate internal measures and controls to ensure compliance” with EU and Dutch sanctions requirements, the post said. The bank may deny a registration if it does not approve of a company’s compliance program.
A Chinese national was sentenced to three years in prison after trying to illegally export a radio designated as a defense article to China, the Justice Department said in a June 12 press release. Qingshan Li bought the export-controlled radio -- a U.S. military Harris Falcon III AN/PRC 152A -- in the U.S. and picked it up from a San Diego storage unit last year. Li intended to take the radio to Tijuana, Mexico, in order to ship it to China from there because of Mexico’s lack of export control rules. Li was eventually stopped by U.S. authorities, who found the radio and other military equipment in his bag, the Justice Department said. Li said he knew the radio was export controlled, the agency said.
The Law Society of England and Wales recently issued guidance on working with clients on sanctions lists, a June 12 EU Sanctions blog post said. Attorneys should first ensure they do not have a “false-positive identification” and work to confirm their client is on a sanctions list, the society said. If the client is confirmed to be subject to sanctions, “suspend the transaction” and report it to the government or a money laundering compliance officer, the society said. Attorneys are required to “report sanctions-related information” to the United Kingdom’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation, the guidance said: not doing so could lead to a penalty or criminal prosecution. Licenses may be available in certain situations, it added.
A new Russian law giving that country's courts “exclusive” jurisdiction over disputes involving sanctioned entities could affect “a lot” of business deals, a June 12 Baker McKenzie post said. The law, effective June 19, will give Russian commercial courts jurisdiction over disputes “directly or indirectly” involving sanctioned entities that “fall within the scope of Russian legislation,” the post said, including if one of the parties “cannot get access to justice [outside of Russia] because of sanctions.” Baker McKenzie advises companies to review their dispute resolution mechanism in contracts with Russian parties and to double-check the ownership structure of Russia-related business partners.
The Commerce Department’s increased restrictions on shipments to military end-users is causing widespread confusion and could cripple exporters struggling to survive during the global COVID-19 pandemic (see 2005010037), industry groups said. The Bureau of Industry and Security's April 28 final rule (see 2004270027), set to take effect June 29, is too complex and was released with “poor” timing and without industry input, the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America said.
India amended certain items under its export and import policy for Special Chemicals, Organisms, Materials, Equipment and Technologies, a June 11 notice said. India published the updated list June 6. The changes affect a range of chemicals, valves, components, fermenters, missile system components, and other materials and substances, the notice said.
Sens. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., and Ben Sasse, R-Neb., introduced legislation to sanction people or companies that “enable the significant and serial theft” of U.S. intellectual property. The bill would authorize blocking measures and asset freezes and allow the president to include an entity on the Commerce Department’s Denied Persons List. “This bipartisan legislation will help end foreign theft of innovative technologies invented in the United States and will send a strong signal to bad actors across the globe,” Van Hollen said in a June 11 statement. The U.S. should “stop leaving an open door for China and other adversaries to steal intellectual property and undercut our strength,” Sasse said.
The U.S. will continue to authorize sanctions against Belarus officials and others for undermining the country’s democratic processes, the White House said June 11. The authorization, introduced in 2006, will remain in effect for at least one more year beyond the expiration date of June 16, 2020. The sanctions block property and freeze assets of designated people or companies.
Sudan urged the U.N. Security Council to lift sanctions on the country, saying current sanctions are worsening the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, a June 9 news release said. At the very least, the U.N. should establish “clear, well-identified and measurable benchmarks” for lifting the sanctions, a Sudan representative said. U.N. officials said the country is still marred by violence and sanctions are justified. “It is not to punish Sudan, but to support and achieve sustainable peace,” the Sudan Sanctions Committee chair, Estonian ambassador to the U.N. Sven Jurgenson, said in a report to the Security Council.