The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week announced a $1.092 million settlement with an unnamed former U.S. government official for alleged violations of U.S. sanctions against Russia. The former official, who is also a lawyer, committed the violations while serving as the fiduciary of the family trust of a sanctioned Russian oligarch, OFAC said.
The Commerce Department is working with “all possible speed” to set up its AI exports program and is still accepting feedback on how best to shape it, said Brandon Remington, deputy undersecretary for policy at the International Trade Administration.
The U.S. announced charges against a group of business owners, their companies and associates for illegally exporting advanced Nvidia chips to China the same day President Donald Trump said he plans to ease export controls over those exact chips.
One year after being created, the U.K.’s Office of Trade Sanctions Implementation has “a number of investigations” underway and has received nearly 150 referrals or reports involving possible sanctions and export control violations, the agency said in its first annual report.
President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social late Dec. 8 that he has decided to allow the sale of Nvidia’s H200 AI chips to “approved customers” in China.
House and Senate negotiators have reached agreement on a final FY 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that includes legislation to limit U.S. outbound investment in China but omits a Senate proposal to restrict exports of advanced AI chips.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang was critical last week of U.S. policies that he said are restricting the company from selling its advanced chips in China and pushed back on claims that Nvidia AI processors are being smuggled into the country.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week announced a $7.1 million penalty against a New York-based property management firm for receiving payments from another company owned by sanctioned Russian oligarch and metals industry magnate Oleg Deripaska. OFAC said the New York company, Gracetown, Inc., failed to report the blocked assets to OFAC for 45 months after the agency notified the firm that the payments risked violating U.S. sanctions.
House Foreign Affairs Committee ranking member Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., said Dec. 4 that he is seeking several changes to a Russia sanctions and tariffs bill that lawmakers are trying to get through Congress this month.
The EU released its new economic security doctrine this week (see 2511170007), outlining plans to build on the bloc’s existing trade defense measures and vowing to more aggressively use investment screening, export controls and other tools to protect EU companies.