Two Russian nationals living in Florida pleaded guilty this week to conspiring to violate the Export Control Reform Act by illegally shipping aviation technology to Russian end users, DOJ announced April 4.
The Bureau of Industry and Security on April 2 renewed the temporary denial order for Russian air cargo carrier Aviastar for one year after finding it continues to violate U.S. export controls. The agency said the airline has continued to illegally operate aircraft subject to the Export Administration Regulations, including for flights within Russia and between Russia and China.
Sanctions compliance professionals should familiarize themselves with several advisories authorities recently issued to help spot “dark fleet” vessels that seek to evade the price cap on Russian oil sales or oil sanctions on Iran and Venezuela, experts said April 4 during a webinar hosted by the Association of Certified Sanctions Specialists.
Banks are facing rising pressure from regulators to catch red flags that may signal export control evasion, lawyers and industry officials said this week. As that pressure mounts, they said many financial institutions still struggle to understand how much and what type of due diligence is needed to catch customers that may be violating export controls.
President Joe Biden spoke April 2 with Chinese President Xi Jinping, raising concerns about Chinese “support” for Russia’s defense industrial base and the importance of U.S. technology export controls. “The President emphasized that the United States will continue to take necessary actions to prevent advanced U.S. technologies from being used to undermine our national security, without unduly limiting trade and investment,” the White House said in a readout of the two leaders’ phone call. The White House also said Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen plan to visit China.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on April 2 removed sanctions from VTB Bank Europe, the European subsidiary of Russian state-owned VTB Bank.
Beijing is looking to grow Renminbi-based financial networks to create an alternative to the dollar-dominated global financial system, which could help the country shield itself from some Western sanctions if it invades Taiwan, researchers and policy experts said this week. Although China isn’t yet ready to rely on those networks, that could change within several years, experts said.
The Czech Republic added one entity and two people to its Russia sanctions regime March 28, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced. The entity is Voice of Europe, an allegedly pro-Russian media operation in Europe operated from the Czech Republic. The people are Viktor Medvedchuk, a former pro-Russian Ukrainian politician who allegedly bankrolls Voice of Europe, according to Reuters, and Artem Marchevskyi, the leader of Voice of Europe.
The European Commission last month updated two Russian sanctions FAQs reon the subject of state-owned enterprises, both related to insurance coverage for certain vessels and ports. The FAQs, updated March 25, explain under what scenarios EU insurers can make payments involving Russian state-owned companies, including payments directly to a port owned by one of those companies, and more.
The House is drafting a national security supplemental appropriations bill that could include a provision to seize frozen Russian assets in the U.S. and transfer the money to Ukraine, Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said March 31.