The EU opened compliance proceedings against the U.S. stemming from its alleged "failure to comply with" the World Trade Organization ruling on its countervailing duties covering ripe olives from Spain, the EU's Directorate-General for Trade announced last week. The proceedings' first step involves a "request for consultations" at the WTO with the U.S. with the goal of "reaching a negotiated settlement." If this measure fails, the EU can request a compliance panel. If the panel confirms noncompliance, the EU will be allowed to take "further measures," the bloc said.
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The Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act does not apply to criminal cases, the Supreme Court of the U.S. held in an April 17 opinion, opening Turkish state-owned Halkbank up to criminal prosecution for conspiring to evade U.S. sanctions on Iran. Justice Brett Kavanaugh, the author of the opinion, said the text of the FSIA, which the bank claimed protected it from prosecution, clearly shows it only addresses civil suits. Six of the court's justices sided with Kavanaugh, with Justices Neil Gorsuch and Samuel Alito dissenting (Turkiye Halk Bankasi A.S. v. U.S., Sup. Ct. # 21-1450).
Dispute panels at the World Trade Organization released panel reports April 17 in cases brought by the EU, Taiwan and Japan and dealing with India's tariff treatment on certain goods in the information and communications technology sector, the WTO announced. In all three cases, the dispute panels found India's duties violated its WTO tariff commitments under the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties and Article II of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.
The U.S. this week charged FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried with violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act's anti-bribery provisions. Filing a superseding indictment at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York March 27, the U.S. Attorney's Office said Bankman-Fried and others paid around $40 million in cryptocurrency to one or more Chinese government officials to "induce them" to unfreeze certain cryptocurrency trading accounts held by one of Bankman-Fried's companies, Alameda Research (U.S. v. Samuel Bankman-Fried, S.D.N.Y. # 22-00673).
Estonian electronics exporter By Trade OU asked a court to issue a sentence against the company that would require it to forfeit all its assets as punishment for violating U.S. export controls against Russia. Filing a sentencing memorandum with the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut, By Trade OU offered up its remaining assets, totalling over $337,000, since it would not be able to pay any fine ordered by the court "due to its financial resources." The company said it would then "cease operations" (United States v. By Trade OU, D. Conn. # 22-00110)
A Washington, D.C., court last week rejected a Russian citizen’s bid to dismiss government accusations that he misled investors about his company’s “key” space technology and several U.S. “adverse national security determinations” against the company. The ruling came after the Securities and Exchange Commission said Mikhail Kokorich, former CEO of space industry startup Momentus, made several “misrepresentations, false statements, and material omissions” in merger discussions with another firm, failing to disclose that the Commerce Department had rejected at least one of his company's export license applications and planned to deny another (SEC v. Mikhail Kokorich, D.D.C. # 21-1869).
The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas dismissed a suit against the State Department concerning the regulation of 3D gun file exports, saying the claims are moot because the State Department shifted export control responsibility to the Commerce Department. Judge Robert Pitman dismissed the case for lack of jurisdiction, saying plaintiffs Defense Distributed and Second Amendment Foundation failed to show the State Department still regulated the exports. Pitman also ruled that Defense Distributed's claim for monetary damages against the State Department belongs "to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Court of Federal Claims."
Roger Ng, former managing director of The Goldman Sachs Group, was sentenced on March 9 to 10 years in prison for violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act as part of the 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York said. Federal prosecutors sought 15 years for the investment banker.
Australian mining giant Rio Tinto will pay a $15 million civil penalty to the Securities and Exchange Commission to settle claims the company violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act by bribing a Guinean government official to retain mining rights in the country.
World Trade Organization Deputy Director-General Angela Ellard spoke about a range of trade issues this week, including the fisheries deal struck at the 12th Ministerial Conference and ongoing reform efforts surrounding the dispute settlement panel.