Rep. Keith Self, R-Texas, introduced a bill June 12 that would increase the congressional notification threshold for exports of firearms controlled under Category I of the U.S. Munitions List. The legislation would set the threshold at $4 million, up from $1 million, a level set in 1976. The bill was referred to the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
The House approved bills late June 23 dealing with anti-piracy sanctions and foreign investment in U.S. farmland.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned Giovanni Vicente Mosquera Serrano, who is "involved in" the drug trafficking and financial operations of the transnational criminal group Tren de Aragua. The agency said Mosquera Serrano oversees drug trafficking efforts and murders on behalf of the gang in Colombia, and he also manages the "financial proceeds" of the gang’s criminal activities. The State Department is offering up to $3 million in rewards for information leading to his arrest or conviction.
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Former U.S. and U.K. national security officials warned the British government about aligning too closely with a decoupling strategy toward China, saying this week that the U.K. should carefully manage sensitive trade issues but not in a way that strains economic ties with Beijing.
President Donald Trump appeared to signal June 24 that the U.S. no longer will sanction China for purchases of Iranian oil.
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).
Australia should impose an arms embargo on Israel along with other sanctions in response to human rights violations committed by the Israeli government and some Israeli citizens against Palestinians in the West Bank, the Australian Center for International Justice said.
Organizations complying with Australian anti-money laundering and counterterrorism financing rules may soon be required to carry out certain sanctions screening procedures to make sure they’re not violating the country’s sanctions laws.
The Council of the European Union on June 23 sanctioned five people associated with the regime of former Syrian President Bashar Assad for their "crimes against humanity and for fueling sectarian violence." Three of the people -- Miqdad Fatiha, Ghaith Dalla and Suhayl al-Hasan -- are former members of the Syrian Republic Guard and Armed Forces who formed militias that "fueled sectarian tensions and incited violence" after the fall of the Assad regime. The council also listed two businessmen, Mudalal Khoury and Imad Khoury, who helped finance crimes against humanity committed under the regime, including the use of chemical weapons.