Jacob Kopnick

A federal magistrate judge at the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled in an order unsealed May 13 that the U.S. had probable cause to believe that an unnamed American citizen violated U.S. sanctions by using cryptocurrency to help various parties evade restrictions. Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui ruled that virtual currency is traceable and that sanctions apply to virtual currency (In Re: Criminal Complaint, D.D.C. #22-00067).

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit upheld the sanctions listing of Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska, finding that the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control provided proper evidence for the listing. The court also held that while Deripaska was found to no longer own two major energy companies, OFAC found him to still operate them, justifying his placement in the Russian sanctions regime.

A Texas U.S. district court found that Chinese telecommunications company ZTE Corp. committed visa fraud to get employees in the U.S. Making the determination during a hearing on whether to revoke ZTE's probation for violating sanctions on Iran, Judge Ed Kinkeade of the Northern District of Texas said that the court decided not to revoke it and to resentence ZTE after looking at the evidence (United States v. ZTE Corporation, N.D. Tex. #3:17-00120).

The EU announced new sanctions targeting the Belarusian financial sector to expand on existing restrictions on the country in response to its role in the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The new restrictions apply to three banks -- Belagroprombank, Bank Dabrabyt and the Development Bank of the Republic of Belarus, along with their Belarusian subsidiaries -- and keep them using SWIFT, the interbank messaging service.

The U.S. charged American citizen John "Jack" Hanick with violating U.S. sanctions on Russia related to Russians promoting separatism in Crimea in 2014 via his work for sanctioned Russian oligarch Konstantin Malofeyev, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York said. Hanick was arrested on Feb. 3 in London and faces a maximum of 20 years in prison for the sanctions charge and five years in prison for a false statements charge. The criminal indictment is the first stemming from the 2014 Russia sanctions regime.

The United Kingdom maintained its barrage of restrictions imposed against Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. So far, the government has sweeping sanctions on a host of Russian individuals and entities, including the Russian Central Bank and President Vladimir Putin himself (see 2202280024). This deluge continued on Feb. 28 and March 1 with greater action to isolate Russia and freeze it out of the global economy.

The EU and the U.K. announced another round of sanctions following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Building off a first wave of restrictions imposed on Russia following troop movement into the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, they either added or announced a series of individuals and entities that will be subject to greater restrictions. The EU said it plans to impose grand sectoral sanctions against Russia, while British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that the U.K. will impose asset freezes on over 100 new entities and individuals.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed a California district court ruling dismissing a case brought by investors in U.S. semiconductor developer Qualcomm over an alleged scheme by the American company to illegally block Singapore firm Broadcom's bid to take over Qualcomm. Investors had argued Qualcomm had improperly lobbied lawmakers and the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. to block the acquisition.

The European Union launched a case at the World Trade Organization over China's allegedly discriminatory practices against Lithuania, which the EU claims are also affecting other exporters from the European trading bloc, the European Commission said. China's restrictions on Lithuania stem from the country's support for Taiwan. In November 2020, Lithuania's ruling coalition agreed to support "those fighting for freedom" in Taiwan. China's response included a refusal to clear goods from Lithuania through customs, rejection of Lithuanian import applications and a campaign to get non-Lithuanian EU companies to remove Lithuanian inputs from their supply chains when sending goods to China (see 2112090012). While the commission also implemented a proposal for an anti-coercion instrument to help respond to China's restrictive measures, it has now also requested consultations with China at the WTO over the restrictions.

Kambiz Attar Kashani, a citizen of both the U.S. and Iran, has been charged with conspiring to illegally export U.S. goods, technology and services to the Iranian government, and others, in violation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York said. A complaint was unsealed in the district court revealing the nature of the charges against Kashani and the extent of his alleged malfeasance. According to the complaint, Kashani conspired to ship goods, including two subscriptions to proprietary computer software, multiple fixed attenuators, six power supplies and various storage systems, to the Central Bank of Iran -- an entity recognized by the Treasury Department as an agency of the Iranian government and thus classified as a Specially Designated National. The complaint said that CBI provided assistance to "Lebanese Hizballah, a terrorist organization, and to the Qods Force of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps." Kashani allegedly arranged for the transshipping schemes while acting as the principal for two United Arab Emirates front companies. The defendant used the companies to procure electronic goods and technology from various U.S. technology companies for the CBI without obtaining the proper Office of Foreign Asset Control licenses, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.