Florida resident Yuksel Senbol was sentenced on Oct. 24 to 15 months in prison for violating the Export Control Reform Act and Arms Export Control Act, among other things, DOJ announced. Senbol, who pleaded guilty in May (see 2405080060), "knowingly facilitated the illegal export" of export-controlled drawings of key U.S. military technology and helped her co-conspirators fraudulently procure contracts to supply the Defense Department with "critical military components," DOJ said. She also agreed to forfeit $275,430.90.
Jacob Kopnick
Jacob Kopnick, Associate Editor, is a reporter for Trade Law Daily and its sister publications Export Compliance Daily and International Trade Today. He joined the Warren Communications News team in early 2021 covering a wide range of topics including trade-related court cases and export issues in Europe and Asia. Jacob's background is in trade policy, having spent time with both CSIS and USTR researching international trade and its complexities. Jacob is a graduate of the University of Michigan with a B.A. in Public Policy.
Chinese lidar company Hesai Technology will meet with the U.S. to discuss next steps in the company's lawsuit against its designation as a Chinese military company after the Pentagon removed the firm from its list of companies with ties to China's military but immediately relisted it (see 2410230018). DOD relisted the company "based on the latest information available" (Hesai Technology Co. v. U.S. Department of Defense, D.D.C. # 24-01381).
The EU General Court on Oct. 23 annuled the sanctions listing of Vladimir Gheorghe Plahotniuc a former member of Moldova's Parliament, who was listed for allegedly committing bank fraud and bribing the former president of Moldova in exchange for political favors.
Turkish state-owned bank Halkbank is not shielded from "common-law foreign sovereign immunity" in the U.S. government's suit against the bank for sanctions evasion, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit said earlier this week, ruling that the U.S. may prosecute it on charges that it helped Iran evade U.S. sanctions (United States v. Turkiye Halk Bankasi, 2nd Cir. # 20-3499).
An indictment was unsealed on Oct. 22 charging Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps brigadier general Ruhollah Bazghandi and members of his network with sanctions evasion, among other charges, in their efforts to murder a U.S. citizen of Iranian origin in New York City, DOJ announced.
Chinese drone-maker DJI Technology Co. is challenging the Pentagon's designation of the firm as a Chinese military company, saying the agency applied the "wrong legal standard," mixed up individuals "with common Chinese names" and relied on "stale alleged facts and attenuated connections that fall short of demonstrating" the company is connected to the Chinese military (SZ DJI Technology Co. v. U.S., D.D.C. # 24-02970).
Switzerland on Oct. 17 adopted most of the measures outlined in the EU's 14th sanctions package on Russia (see 2406240024), including expanded export controls, bans on the use of specialized financial messaging services, sanctions on vessels that are part of Russia's "dark fleet," and more.
The U.S. on Oct. 15 urged the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas to dismiss a lawsuit from nonprofit advocacy group Texas for Israel and its members challenging the constitutionality of the Biden administration's West Bank-related sanctions authority.
The U.K. on Oct. 17 added Russian energy company Rasgazdobycha JSC to its Russia sanctions regime, the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation announced. OFSI added the company for supporting the Russian government by conducting business in an area of strategic significance, namely, the energy sector.
Diego Ortega, former sanctions regulations adviser at the Office of Foreign Assets Control, has joined Faegre Drinker as a government and regulatory counsel, the firm announced. Ortega worked for over three years at OFAC, where he drafted and published regulations implementing U.S. sanctions authorities and general licenses.