The U.K. amended various entries under its ISIL (Da'esh) and al-Qaida and North Korea sanctions regimes in a pair of Jan. 8 notices.
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.
DOJ will not seek a second trial against embattled former FTX chief Sam Bankman-Fried related to charges he conspired to bribe foreign officials in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. In a Dec. 29 letter to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said proceeding with the sentencing, and avoiding a delay that a second trial would cause, "would advance the public's interest in a timely and just resolution of the case" (U.S. v. Samuel Bankman-Fried, S.D.N.Y. # 22-00673).
White collar attorneys Maria Lapetina and Ian Herbert were elected members of the firm, effective Jan. 1, the firm announced. Lapetina centers her practice on internal and government investigations, including Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and anti-money laundering cases. Herbert is a member of the Trust and Family Office and Anti-Money Laundering practice groups, whose practice also centers on government investigations.
The EU General Court on Dec. 20 granted Russian business executive Sergei Mndoiants' request to annul his placement on the Russia sanctions list. The court also rejected similar requests from oligarchs Roman Abramovich and Vadim Nikolaevich Moshkovich.
A Georgia businessman, a former Honduran government official and a former Florida resident were charged with allegedly participating in a scheme to pay and hide bribes to Honduran government officials to "secure contracts to provide uniforms and other goods" to the Honduran National Police, DOJ said.
China issued new export restrictions on four products this week, according to an unofficial translation of a Ministry of Commerce announcement. The four items are cell cloning and gene editing technology for human use, crop hybrid advantage utilization technology, "bulk material handling and transportation technology," and lidar systems.
A Kansas business owner pleaded guilty Dec. 19 for his part in a scheme to violate U.S. export laws by filing false export forms and shipping "sophisticated and controlled" avionics equipment to Russian customers without export licenses, DOJ announced. Cyril Buyanovsky, owner of KanRus Trading Co. also agreed to forfeit over $450,000 worth of avionics equipment along with a $50,000 personal forfeiture. He faces a maximum of 25 years in prison.
Informal negotiations on revising the World Trade Organization's dispute settlement rules "are nearing their conclusion," Marco Molina, the Guatemala deputy permanent representative, told members of the WTO's Dispute Settlement Body at its Dec. 18 meeting. Molina said the goal is to have a "fully and well-functioning dispute settlement system accessible to all members by 2024," according to the WTO.
Turkish duties on a host of U.S. products in retaliation for President Donald Trump's Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs violate World Trade Organization commitments, a WTO dispute panel ruled Dec. 19. The panel said the duties violate articles I and II of the 1994 General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and also found that the Section 232 duties are not "safeguards."
Japan levied a host of new sanctions on Russia, including a ban on the import of non-industrial Russian diamonds, the Ministry of Finance announced Dec. 15, according to an unofficial translation. The ministry said the import ban will be rolled out "at a later date."