Switzerland is "strengthening" its humanitarian exemptions under its sanctions regimes to "provide greater clarity" to aid groups, the Swiss Federal Council said this month. The changes, which will take effect Sept. 15, build on the U.N.'s humanitarian exemptions that Switzerland adopted in 2023 (see 2304280023) and are "consistent with Switzerland's humanitarian tradition and its longstanding commitment to protecting humanitarian activities in situations affected by sanctions."
The U.K.’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation issued three new FAQs to provide guidance on its Russia-related general license that authorizes certain transactions involving brokerage firms.
Dual U.S. and Russian national Vadim Yermolenko was sentenced to 30 months in prison, and ordered to forfeit $75,547, for his role in a scheme to illegally export controlled dual-use and military items to Russia as part of a Moscow-led sanctions evasion scheme. He pleaded guilty in November to conspiracy to violate the Export Control Reform Act, commit bank fraud and defraud the U.S. (see 2411010047).
House Select Committee on China ranking member Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., urged the Trump administration Aug. 19 to continue sanctioning China for buying Iranian oil.
Despite co-sponsoring a bill that would impose a wide range of sanctions on Russia and its supporters if Moscow refuses to reach a peace deal with Ukraine, Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., said Aug. 19 he is hesitant for Congress to take up the legislation when it returns from its August recess.
The U.S. should rent out AI chips to China instead of selling them, a strategy that would allow American firms to continue profiting while giving the U.S. the ability to cut off access at any time, researchers said.
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President Donald Trump signed into law Aug. 19 a bill that will require an annual report to Congress on certain dual-use license applications, the White House announced.
The more than $140 million U.S. penalty levied on California chip firm Cadence in July (see 2507290026) is the latest signal that companies should prepare for increasingly "aggressive" export control enforcement, especially for violators of technology controls against China, law firms said. One firm said it shows that the government expects companies to provide access to business information located in China -- even if that may violate China’s anti-foreign sanctions laws -- while another firm said it highlights the challenges companies face when determining whether a customer is a front company for a party on the Entity List.
Miad Maleki, former associate director of the Office of Foreign Asset Control's Office of Global Targeting, has joined Ferrari, the law firm announced Aug. 18. Maleki will help the firm "effectively advise its clients on their sanctions exposure; understand U.S. government expectations with regard to addressing sanctionable conduct; and overall augment the firm’s understanding of shifting U.S. government policies driving sanctions actions," it said. Maleki left OFAC earlier this month.