The U.S., Canada and other nations can make sanctions screening efforts by banks and other financial institutions more efficient by addressing certain privacy laws, said Stephen Alsace, global head of economic sanctions for the Royal Bank of Canada. If all financial institutions were able to share more information about certain transactions, it could reduce redundancies during the sanctions compliance process and allow payments to be screened and processed faster, Alsace said.
The U.K. added 29 entries to the Russia sanctions regime Nov. 8, targeting Russian gold refiners and producers as well as international networks supporting the country's gold, oil, finance and defense sectors. The country's National Crime Agency also issued a new alert to make financial institutions aware of how Russia is using gold to evade sanctions.
The Bureau of Industry and Security issued a temporary denial order on Nov. 7 against seven people and three companies for orchestrating a scheme to illegally export millions of dollars worth of export-controlled dual-use electronics to Russia. BIS said the U.S.-origin items were bought by Russian procurement agents and transshipped through other countries before being delivered to Russian companies with ties to the country’s military.
South Africa recently lifted a ban on poultry imports from 27 U.S. states, USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service said in a report this month. South Africa originally imposed the ban on U.S. poultry after highly pathogenic avian influenza was detected in February 2022, USDA said. The agency said it worked with industry for “a year and half” to urge South Africa to remove the ban, which is allowed after the U.S. veterinary health authority has cleared the poultry. USDA estimated U.S. export sales for poultry could grow by $50 million as a result of lifting the ban. However, South African import restrictions on poultry and "other products derived from poultry" remain for 10 states: Colorado, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota and Utah.
The Bureau of Industry and Security fined Forta, a U.S. synthetic fiber manufacturer, $44,750 after the company violated BIS’ antiboycott regulations. Forta voluntarily disclosed the violations, which included providing its freight forwarder ahead of a trade show in Abu Dhabi with certifications that its products weren’t made with Israeli labor or raw materials.
The Bureau of Industry and Security and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network this week issued another set of export control evasion red flags for financial service firms along with a new key term that banks and others can include in their suspicious activity reports to FinCEN. The new term will “enable even more BIS investigative and Entity List actions against” people and companies looking to evade U.S. export controls, said Matthew Axelrod, BIS’ top export enforcement official.
The House on Nov. 3 passed a bill that could lead to new primary and secondary sanctions on foreign ports and refineries that process or accept petroleum exported from or originating in Iran. The Stop Harboring Iranian Petroleum Act, passed 342-69, could also lead to sanctions on any entity that “transports, offloads, or otherwise deals in petroleum originating in Iran, including vessels engaging in ship-to-ship transfers of petroleum,” according to a press release from Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., who introduced the bill alongside Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla.
The U.S. this week announced a spate of new Russia-related sanctions and export controls, targeting people and companies supplying Russia’s military, aiding its defense industrial complex or operating in various Russian financial, metals, government and procurement sectors. The measures include additions to the Commerce Department’s Entity List and more than 200 combined sanctions by the Treasury and State departments targeting businesses in China, the United Arab Emirates and elsewhere for sending export-controlled components to Russia.
The Census Bureau is looking to eliminate one of two fields in the Automated Export System that collect redundant information on an export’s state of origin, said Omari Wooden, a Census official. Wooden, speaking Oct. 28 during the Pacific Coast Council's Western Cargo Conference, or Wesccon, said Census is hoping to either remove the state of origin data element in AES or not require the state to be reported in the address of the U.S. Principal Party in Interest.
The EU General Court on Oct. 25 annulled the listing of the ex-wife of Alfa Group founder Mikhail Fridman, referred to only as "QF" in the opinion, according to an unofficial translation. Originally sanctioned in April 2022, QF was delisted five months later. The court annulled her original listing. QF claimed the European Council based its decision on evidence lacking probative value and erroneously assessed the facts.