The Bureau of Industry and Security added 34 entities under 43 entries to Entity List, BIS said in a final rule. Fourteen of those entities are based in China and “have enabled Beijing’s campaign of repression, mass detention, and high-technology surveillance against Uyghurs, Kazakhs, and members of other Muslim minority groups in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Regions of China (XUAR), where the PRC continues to commit genocide and crimes against humanity,” the Commerce Department said in a news release. Another five of the entities were “directly supporting PRC’s military modernization programs related to lasers and C4ISR programs, Commerce said.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control officially released its Russian Harmful Foreign Activities Sanctions Directive July 7, outlining restrictions against the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, the National Wealth Fund of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation. The directive, issued by OFAC in April (see 2104150019), was part of a broad sanctions package to penalize Russian human rights violations, corruption and election interference activities.
Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with the top stories for June 28 - July 2 in case you missed them. You can find any article by searching on the title or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
The United Kingdom's Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation in a July 1 Financial Sanctions Notice amended the listing of Andrei Valeryevich Kartapolov under the commonwealth's Russia sanctions regime. OFSI removed a known alias from his listing.
A shift toward list-based sanctions and a rise in federal government compliance expectations are causing increasing challenges for the compliance community, compliance professionals said. At the center of those challenges are the designations imposed by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, which is setting a high bar for due diligence by more clearly describing its compliance expectations in settlement agreements.
The Bureau of Industry and Security fined a Fredericksburg, Virginia, military equipment manufacturer $200,000 for illegally exporting military-related items to military end-users in Russia, BIS said in a June 28 order. The company, Patriot 3, exported maritime jet boots with underwater propulsion systems despite having “knowledge” that the shipment violated the Export Administration Regulations, the order said. BIS said the boots, which were worth about $330,000 and exported in 2014, were controlled in connection with exports to military end-users or for military end-uses in Russia. Patriot 3 sent the boots to the Russian government’s Federal Guard Service, BIS said.
The United Kingdom's Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation on June 22 published an updated version of its guidance for the financial sanctions on Russian individuals and entities. The guidance provides information on loan and credit arrangements, financial service restrictions and frequently asked questions, among other concerns.
Russian nationals, Rostec Corporation CEO Sergye Chemezov and VSMPO-AVISMA Vice Chairman MIkhail Shelkov, along with Ukranian businessmen Dmitry Firtash and Pavel Fuks, were sanctioned by the Ukranian National Security and Defense Council, according to a June 18 press release. Firtash was listed since his titanium companies allegedly "supplied raw materials to Russian military enterprises," while Fuks made the list for violations in securing licenses for the development of hydrocarbon deposits.
Two U.S. citizens and three foreign nationals were indicted by a federal grand jury in Los Angeles for conspiring to illicitly ship defense articles to Russia, the Department of Justice said in a June 21 news release. The goods, allegedly exported without a license in violation of the Arms Export Control Act, include thermal imaging riflescopes and night-vision goggles. The five allegedly obtained the items using false names and addresses, then shipped the articles to Russian co-conspirators, DOJ said. The nightscopes and goggles are regulated under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, making their illegal exportation a violation of the AECA. Elena Shifrin of Mundelein, Illinois, and Vladimir Pridacha of Volo, Illinois, were arrested June 17 for their roles in the nearly four-year scheme. The other defendants are Boris Polosin of Russia, Vladimir Gohman of Israel and Igor Panchernikov, an Israeli national residing in Corona, California, during much of the scheme.
The United Kingdom's Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation amended its Russian sanctions regime, revising the entry for Sergey Valeryevich Aksyonov in a June 21 financial sanctions notice. Aksyonov was listed as part of the U.K.'s response to Russia's annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol and “continued destabilisation of Ukraine.” The amendment removed “Petro Zyma” as an alternate name for Aksyonov.