The Department of Justice issued a forfeiture warrant and complaint for all petroleum products aboard four tankers that it alleged are illegally shipping Iranian oil to Venezuela. The ships -- the Bella, the Bering, the Pandi and the Luna -- allegedly are working with the U.S.-sanctioned Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to ship the oil and fund IRGC terrorist activities, DOJ said July 2. The four tankers are carrying more than 1 million barrels of gasoline combined, the agency said.
A federal appeals court upheld a conviction for a man who illegally exported electronics to Cuba. Bryan Singer had argued the court lacked evidence to convict him of knowingly shipping “303 Ubiquiti NanoStation M2 Network Modems” without a license, and said the U.S. failed to “prove he knew of the facts that made the NanoStations” subject to export controls. But the 11th Circuit denied Singer’s appeal. “The evidence admitted at trial established Singer's knowledge beyond a reasonable doubt,” a June 26 decision said.
The United Kingdom on July 6 set its first sanctions under its new human rights sanctions regime, designating 49 people and organizations because of human rights violations. The sanctions, which have been hinted at by officials for months and were expected this summer (see 2007020014 and 2001100046), marked the first time the U.K. has issued its own designations for human rights abuses, with additional sanctions expected in the coming months, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said July 6. The U.K. also issued a sanctions guidance for industry and an outline of available licenses, and said European Union sanctions will continue to apply in the U.K. until it leaves the EU on Dec. 31.
The European Commission referred Austria, Belgium and the Netherlands to the European Union Court of Justice for failing to implement the EU’s anti-money laundering regulations, the commission said July 2. The referral includes a “request for financial sanctions,” the commission added. The commission also said the lack of implementation may affect information regarding corporate ownership of certain entities.
Testimony by Liz Truss, the United Kingdom's international trade secretary, revealed that no chapters have been closed yet in negotiations with the U.S., and suggests that barriers to U.S. exports of poultry and beef and price controls on pharmaceutical drugs continue to be sensitive areas for the British. Truss was updating Parliament about the second round of negotiations on a free trade agreement with the U.S.
Twelve countries, including China, vowed to continue refraining from imposing export controls and other trade restrictions that would damage global supply chains during the COVID-19 pandemic. The July 2 joint statement, issued by China’s Commerce Ministry and signed by Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Chile, Uruguay and others, said, “it is in our mutual interest to ensure that trade lines remain open, including via air and sea freight, to facilitate the flow of goods.” The countries said they recognize “the importance of refraining from the imposition of export controls or tariffs and non-tariff barriers,” and that existing restrictions on medical supplies should be removed.
The United Nations Security Council granted a sanctions exemption to allow an organization in Finland to deliver humanitarian goods to North Korea, a June 24 letter said. Finn Church Aid, a nongovernmental organization, is authorized to ship food supplies and learning materials to primary school children for the next six months. Finland may conduct “necessary business and financial transactions only for the purchase of goods and services exempted” by the UNSC.
The United Kingdom will impose its first human rights sanctions before the summer recess of its Parliament, U.K. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said July 1. Raab said he “will not speculate on or pre-empt who or what will be in those designations.”
The Office of Foreign Assets Control July 2 removed sanctions from eight companies and vessels that had been sanctioned for operating in Venezuela's oil sector. The agency also revoked a general license that authorized certain transactions with two of the shipping companies, Marshall Islands-based Delos Voyager Shipping and its Delos Voyager and the Greece-based Romina Maritime and its Euroforce (see 2006180044). OFAC also removed designations from the Delos Voyager and Euroforce, along with the Marshall Islands-flagged vessel Voyager I, Marshall Islands-based Sanibel Shiptrade Ltd. and Adamant Maritime Ltd., and the Bahamas-flagged vessel Seahero, which were sanctioned June 2 (see 2006020024).
Rich Ashooh, the Commerce Department’s assistant secretary for export administration, submitted his resignation and will officially leave the agency July 16, a Commerce spokesperson said. The spokesperson declined to comment on the reasons for Ashooh’s departure. Ashooh’s resignation was first reported by Reuters.