The Commerce Department’s delay in issuing emerging and foundational technology controls may not be hampering U.S. foreign investment reviews as much as some lawmakers have suggested, trade lawyers said. Although the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. doesn’t yet have a clear set of Commerce-defined critical technologies to target, that has not slowed down CFIUS from catching non-notified deals in critical technology sectors, the lawyers said in interviews, especially those involving semiconductors (see 2109010051).
The United Kingdom's Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation added an individual and an entity to its Myanmar sanctions list for perpetuating human rights violations in the country, including the ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya Muslim minority population, it said in a Sept. 2 notice. OFSI added arms dealer Tay Za and the Htoo Group of Companies that he owns to the sanctions regime, subjecting them to an asset freeze and travel ban.
The G-7's Financial Action Task Force released its Japan Mutual Evaluation Report 2021 along with an executive summary that gives a synopsis of the anti-money laundering and counterterrorist financing (AML/CFT) measures imposed by Japan since November 2019. The report also broke down Japan's compliance with the FATF's 40 recommendations and the effectiveness of the nation's AML/CFT system, along with a fresh set of recommendations.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Sept. 2 removed four entries from its Specially Designated Nationals List. Three are Balkans related: Jovan Djogo, Momcilo Krajisnik and Dragan Nikolic. The fourth is Cuba-related, the vessel Hermann. OFAC also revised two Cuba-related entries for the vessels Sand Swan and Tifon. The agency didn’t immediately provide more information on the changes.
The European Commission will hold its annual export control forum Dec. 8, the commission announced Sept. 2, providing European Union member states, industry, academia and others an opportunity to discuss export control policies. The forum will include a discussion on the EU’s new dual-use control regulations (see 2105100013) and other export control developments globally.
The Treasury Department needs to provide significant assurances to banks and non-governmental organizations that they will not be sanctioned for transactions related to humanitarian relief in Afghanistan (see 2108260055), a former sanctions official and an export control official said. Without those assurances, large banks will be unwilling to risk approving transactions to the country because they fear violating U.S. sanctions and potentially large enforcement penalties.
The United Kingdom's Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation published guidance in an Aug. 31 LinkedIn post to anyone engaging in financial activity in Afghanistan, given that some members of the Taliban in positions of authority are under United Nations sanctions. The agency recommended conducting enhanced due diligence especially with entities controlled by designated individuals, checking the consolidated sanctions list, and considering bringing on independent legal counsel before engaging in any activity. The post also addressed charities operating in the region, referring them to OFSI's charity sector guidance and the Charity Commission's Compliance Toolkit.
Maryland residents Wilson Nuyila Tita of Owings Mills, Eric Fru Nji of Fort Washington and Wilson Che Fonguh of Bowie were charged Aug. 27 in a federal indictment at the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland with conspiracty to violate the Arms Export Control Act and the Export Reform Control Act, the Department of Justice said. The three allegedly shipped firearms and ammunition from the U.S. to Nigeria, violating export restrictions.
The Drug Enforcement Administration is proposing to list methiopropamine, a central nervous stimulant that is structurally related to the schedule II stimulants methamphetamine and amphetamine, under schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, it said in a notice released Sept. 1. “If finalized, this action would impose the regulatory controls and administrative, civil, and criminal sanctions applicable to schedule I controlled substances on persons who handle (manufacture, distribute, reverse distribute, import, export, engage in research, conduct instructional activities or chemical analysis with, or possess), or propose to handle, methiopropamine.” Comments are due by Oct. 4.
The U.S. should rethink sanctions against the Taliban and potentially Afghanistan, which likely will not work as intended and could lead to severe humanitarian consequences, said Husain Haqqani, an expert with the Hudson Institute and Pakistan’s former ambassador to the U.S. Haqqani said sanctions against the Taliban only “threaten to compound the already dire challenges of Afghan citizens,” adding that the country will soon run out of fuel and will need to import food. “With the serious potential for a nationwide humanitarian crisis,” Haqqani wrote in an Aug. 27 opinion piece in The Washington Post, “it would make sense to rethink the blunt instrument of sanctions.”