The U.S. last week removed sanctions from a Swiss business consultant, his two sons and his companies because they ended their business in Russia, a Treasury Department spokesperson said.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned the Ecuador-based Los Lobos Drug Trafficking Organization and its leader, Wilmer Geovanny Chavarria Barre, for contributing to violence and illegal drug trafficking in the country. The agency said the sanctions build on the February designation of the Los Choneros gang in Ecuador and its leader (see 2402070066).
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week updated and added to its Syria-related restrictions under several sanctions regimes, including restrictions related to “foreign sanctions evaders.” The agency also added various definitions and a new general license, along with updating other licenses, including changes to a license that authorizes certain legal services.
The House version of the FY 2025 Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Bill could withhold funds the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network may need to implement or enforce its new beneficial ownership information (BOI) reporting rule.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control last week sanctioned four Iranian entities and an Iranian aviation industry executive for their ties to the country’s unmanned aerial vehicle program, which has made drones for Russia’s war against Ukraine.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned two companies in the Central African Republic linked to the Wagner Group, the designated private Russian military organization. The sanctions target Mining Industries SARLU and Logistique Economique Etrangere SARLU for “enabling Wagner Group security operations and Wagner Group-linked illicit mining endeavors” in the CAR, OFAC said.
Congress, federal agencies and state bar associations should work together on new regulations to ensure U.S. lawyers aren't enabling Russia-related sanctions evasion, Stanford Law School lecturer Erik Jensen and a host of law students recommended in a recent report.
The U.S. and other countries imposing sanctions and export controls on Russia need a more “aggressive” plan to cripple Moscow’s war effort, a group of researchers and economists said, including through tighter financial restrictions, new bans on Russian commodities and broader export controls. They also said American lawyers should have to follow strict due diligence and reporting rules when taking on clients with ties to Russia, and said the price cap on Russian oil should be lowered.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned three Chinese nationals for their ties to a “residential proxy botnet” called 911 S5 that allows hackers to hide their locations and evade fraud detection systems. The designations target Yunhe Wang, Jingping Liu and Yanni Zheng along with Spicy Code Company Limited, a company used by Wang to buy real estate, and Tulip Biz Pattaya Group Company Limited and Lily Suites Company Limited, other companies owned by Wang.
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