The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on July 11 upheld Chinese lidar company Hesai Technology's designation as a "Chinese military company." Judge Paul Friedman waded through issues of statutory interpretation regarding the Pentagon's definition of the phrase "military-civil fusion contributor to the Chinese defense industrial base" and DOD's evidentiary basis for finding that this phrase describes Hesai (Hesai Technology v. U.S. Dep't of Def., D.D.C. # 24-01381).
An Iranian national and U.S. resident was arrested for allegedly exporting electronics used in railway signaling and telecommunications systems in violation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations, DOJ announced last week. Bahram Ostovari is charged with one count of conspiring to violate the IEEPA and three counts of violating the IEEPA, facing a maximum prison sentence of 20 years for each count.
Kyrgyz national Sergei Zharnovnikov pleaded guilty June 25 to conspiracy to illegally export firearms and ammunition to Russia, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern Dstrict of New York announced. He faces a maximum of 20 years in prison.
The U.S. and law firm Husch Blackwell again swapped briefs June 13 in the firm’s Freedom of Information Act dispute. Husch Blackwell said the government, which provided a list of more than 100 disclosed and undisclosed documents related to the firm’s FOIA request regarding an Entity List listing when it filed for summary judgment (see 2505300055), still wasn’t making clear which documents were actually responsive to the request (Husch Blackwell v. Department of Commerce, D.D.C. # 1:24-02733).
The Bureau of Industry and Security this week officially released its enforcement order, charging letter and settlement agreement involving Unicat Catalyst Technologies, the Texas-based industrial equipment supplier that recently was assessed millions of dollars in combined penalties by BIS, DOJ and the Office of Foreign Assets Control for allegedly violating export control and sanctions laws (see 2506170047).
A Spanish national living in the United Arab Emirates pleaded guilty on June 17 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to conspiring to illegally export U.S.-origin radio communications technology to Russian end users without a license, DOJ announced. Sentencing is set for Sept. 30.
A Venezuelan national and a U.S. citizen were arrested on June 13 and charged with violating U.S. sanctions on Venezuela by selling "chemical catalysts, industrial equipment, and associated services" to sanctioned Venezuelan state-owned steel mills and petrochemical companies, DOJ announced. The Venezuelan national, Juan Carlos Cairo-Padron, and the U.S. citizen, Thomas Fortinberry, both face a maximum of 20 years in prison for sanctions and money laundering counts and 10 years in prison for smuggling.
DOJ announced last week that it opened a civil forfeiture action in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against more than $7.74 million allegedly laundered on behalf of the North Korean government. The funds were initially "restrained" as part of an indictment against North Korean banker Sim Hyon Sop, who was allegedly conspiring with North Korean information technology workers who illegally "amassed millions in cryptocurrency" as a means of evading sanctions on North Korea, DOJ said.
A Pakistani national was convicted last week of smuggling "Iranian-made advanced conventional weaponry" meant for the Houthis in Yemen, DOJ announced. Muhammad Pahlawan will be sentenced on Sept. 22 and faces a maximum of 20 years in prison.
A Chinese national pleaded guilty on June 9 to illegally exporting firearms, ammunition and "other military items" to North Korea by hiding them inside shipping containers leaving a California port, DOJ announced. Shenghua Wen admitted to one count of conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and one count of acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government.