The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Oct. 17 rejected both the government’s and law firm Husch Blackwell’s motions for judgment in a Freedom of Information Act dispute involving the Entity List. It gave the Commerce Department time to provide adequate justifications for its decisions to withhold certain information but said the ones it already provided weren’t enough (Husch Blackwell v. Department of Commerce, D.D.C. # 24-2733.
Chinese drone maker SZ DJI Technology said this week that it will appeal a recent decision from the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia denying the company's challenge to its designation as a Chinese military company. DJI will take the case to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit (SZ DJI Technology v. U.S. Department of Defense, D.D.C. # 24-02970).
The Bureau of Industry and Security on Sept. 30 again renewed the temporary denial order for Russia's Ural Airlines, saying it has continued to illegally operate flights within Russia and to and from Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. The order, first issued in October 2022 (see 2210170009) and renewed multiple times, bars the airline from participating in transactions with items subject to the Export Administration Regulations. The order was renewed for one year.
The Bureau of Industry and Security again renewed temporary denial orders for three Russian airlines accused of violating U.S. export controls against Russia.
Gregory Munoz, a salesperson for a Massachusetts biochemical company that DOJ said was part of an illegal export scheme involving China, was sentenced to 18 months in prison and ordered to forfeit $100,000. DOJ said Munoz pleaded guilty in 2024 to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
The U.S. charged Armenian national Kamo Kirakosyan this week with violating export controls after DOJ said he participated in a conspiracy to illegally export semiconductor manufacturing items from the U.S. to Russia through Armenia.
An Estonian national was extradited to the U.S. on Aug. 28 to face charges of conspiracy to violate U.S. export controls by sourcing U.S.-made electronics for use by the Russian government and military, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York announced. Andrey Shevlyakov faces 18 total counts related to the international procurement scheme.
The Bureau of Industry and Security on Aug. 26 suspended the export privileges of 19 people after they were convicted of export-related offenses, including illegal shipments involving guns, gun parts, ammunition, microdisplays and vehicles. The suspensions took effect from the date of their convictions.
The State Department rescinded its statutory debarment of Dominick DeQuarto after receiving a reinstatement request, the agency said in a notice released Aug. 22. The agency debarred DeQuarto in 2020 for violating the Arms Export Control Act but determined the debarment should no longer apply after conducting a “thorough review of the circumstances surrounding" his conviction. The State Department determined that DeQuarto has taken “appropriate steps to address the causes of the violations sufficient to warrant rescission of his statutory debarment.”
A U.S. business owner allegedly exported gun parts and accessories to Russia illegally by routing them through Kazakhstan and mislabeling the shipments to evade authorities, DOJ said last week. Maxim Larin, a Florida resident who owns multiple U.S.-based firearms supply companies, illegally worked with a person in Russia to evade export restrictions and ship items controlled under both the Export Administration Regulations and International Traffic in Arms Regulations, the agency said.