The Biden administration is planning new sanctions to make it more difficult for hackers to use digital currencies to profit from ransomware attacks, The Wall Street Journal reported Sept. 17. The sanctions could come as soon as this week and will be accompanied by guidance from the Treasury Department about the risks linked to facilitating ransomware payments, including penalties, the report said. The sanctions are expected to target specific people or entities rather than an “entire crypto infrastructure where ransomware transactions are suspected of taking place,” the report said. A Treasury spokesperson didn’t comment.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Sept. 17 sanctioned a network of Lebanon- and Kuwait-based financial conduits as well as a network of financial facilities that support Hezbollah and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force. The networks have helped launder tens of millions of dollars on behalf of terrorist groups and conduct currency exchange operations and trades in gold and electronics” for both Hezbollah and IRGC-QF, OFAC said.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Sept. 17 issued another reminder (see 2107070005) to industry to file annual reports on blocked property by Sept. 30. The reports should disclose blocked property held as of June 30. The OFAC notice includes a link to the blocked property report spreadsheet and guidance on filing the reports.
The Bureau of Industry and Security issued Sept. 17 guidance on export control information related to radiation hardened integrated circuits. The guidance includes a frequently asked question about whether certain integrated circuits are considered to be “rated as radiation hardened” under Export Control Classification Number 3A001.a.1 or meet or exceed the characteristics in ECCN 9A515.d or e. Another FAQ addresses how the classification of “standard fabrication process technologies” are impacted if they don’t meet certain required standards in the Export Administration Regulations. The final FAQ addresses whether the U.S. government, in developing plans to “prevent the release of controlled technology during the lifecycle of an acquisition,” can rely on “industry technology control plans for programs using onshore foundries for integrated circuit production.”
An investment and research firm expects the Bureau of Industry and Security to issue several proposed rules for export controls related to semiconductors this fall and said BIS is considering other restrictions on certain Chinese technology companies. In a Sept. 17 report, the Cowen Washington Research Group said BIS is “likely” to soon issue several notices of proposed rulemaking to request industry comment on new controls for semiconductor capital equipment, mostly so the U.S. is prepared with new proposals for the next Wassenaar Arrangement cycle.
President Joe Biden issued an executive order last week authorizing a range of sanctions and export restrictions against human rights abusers and other people committing violence, blocking humanitarian aid or threatening peace in Ethiopia. The new sanctions regime can target the Ethiopian and Eritrean government and several military groups in the region, including the Ethiopian National Defense Forces, the Eritrean Defense Forces, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front and Amhara regional forces, and others supporting those groups and people. In addition to asset freezes, the order authorizes the Treasury Department to work with other agencies to deny export licenses for certain goods and technology to people or entities sanctioned under this regime.
President Joe Biden extended a national emergency that authorizes certain sanctions against people who commit, threaten to commit, or support terrorism, the White House said Sept. 15. The emergency was extended for one year beyond Sept. 23, 2021. This national emergency was first declared Sept. 23, 2001, in reaction to the terror events on Sept. 11 that year.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Sept. 16 sanctioned two entities and four people for operating as a “significant” drug trafficking organization. The designations target Zulma Maria Musso Torres, Washington Antunez Musso, Juan Carlos Reales Britto and Luis Antonio Bermudez Mejia for their involvement in drug trafficking. Antunez Musso, Reales Britto, and Bermudez Mejia report to Musso Torres, OFAC said, and help her traffic drugs at Colombian seaports. The four persons include husband and wife and the wife's two sons. OFAC also designated two Colombian entities, Exclusive Import Export S.A.S. and Poligono Santa Marta S.A.S., which are controlled by Antunez Musso and Reales Britto.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Sept. 16 sanctioned five al-Qaida supporters in Turkey who provide a “range of financial and travel facilitation services” to the terrorist group. The designations target Majdi Salim, Muhammad Nasr al-Din al-Ghazlani, Nurettin Muslihan, Cebrail Guzel and Soner Gurleyen.
The Biden administration is likely to increase export controls and sanctions enforcement in the next few years, Gibson Dunn lawyers said during a webinar this week. They also said the administration is likely to pursue enforcement in creative ways, including sometimes through disclosures with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S.