The U.N. Security Council and the U.K. this week sanctioned six military leaders involved in violence or human rights abuses in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The designations target Apollinaire Hakizimana, Ahmad Mahmood Hassan, Michel Rukunda, Mohamed Ali Nkalubo, William Amuri Yakutumba and Willy Ngoma. The U.S. announced similar sanctions last year when it designated six Rwandan or Congolese nationals contributing to conflict in the DRC (see 2308240019).
The State Department this week released its 2023 Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act Annual Report, detailing actions it took to impose Magnitsky sanctions last year, including 78 foreign person designations. The report lists each of the designations, including why they were designated.
U.S., Japanese and Korean officials met in Tokyo this week to discuss export controls, including ways their three countries can better share information and align their restrictions, the Bureau of Industry and Security said. The meeting was the “first in-person meeting of its kind” focused on aligning export controls, BIS said, and the three sides agreed to “further align on Russia controls, collaborate on outreach to countries in Southeast Asia, and cooperate on controls for critical and emerging technologies.”
Canadian exporters are increasingly seeing delays when applying for and receiving export permits, especially for shipments to Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, said John Boscariol, a trade lawyer with McCarthy Tétrault. Boscariol, speaking during a virtual event this week hosted by the American Bar Association, said none of those countries are “prohibited destinations” under Canadian export regulations, but the government has still been taking “extra time” in evaluating permits.
The U.S. announced a new set of sweeping Russia-related export controls and sanctions this week to mark the two-year anniversary of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine and to respond to Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny's death in prison. The measures include nearly 100 additions to the Commerce Department’s Entity List and more than 500 sanctions designations by the Treasury and State departments in what the U.S. said is its largest single tranche of designations since Russia began the war in 2022.
The Bureau of Industry and Security this week eliminated some license requirements for exports of certain cameras, systems and related components, which the agency said will help U.S. exporters better compete with foreign firms and reduce licensing burdens. The final rule, released Feb. 22, also introduces a new control for certain high-speed cameras that BIS said pose proliferation risks.
Anden Chow, former assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, has joined litigation boutique MoloLamken as a partner in New York, the firm announced. Chow worked as an assistant U.S. Attorney for a decade, most recently working on prosecutions into "international financial crime," including "sanctions evasion, asset forfeiture, money laundering, cryptocurrency-related fraud, and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations," the firm said.
The U.K. added a frequently asked question to its Russia sanctions guidance to clarify when certain sanctioned U.K. parties must report to the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation on changes in their financial circumstances under regulation 70A (5). New FAQ 56 says a party must report to OFSI when "the value of your funds or economic resources, when taken together, has changed" by more than 10,000 pounds ($12,620) since its most recent report to OFSI. Changes also must be reported "if there has been a change to the nature or location of funds or economic resources where those funds or economic resources exceeds" $12,620. This also applies where multiple funds of the same type total more than $12,620.
The U.K. on Feb. 21 added six Russians to its Global Human Rights sanctions regime for their role in the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. They are Aleksandr Vladimirovich Golyakov, Vadim Konstantinovich Kalinin, Sergey Nikolaevich Korzhov, Aleksandr Valerievich Obraztsov, Vladimir Ivanovich Pilipchik and Vasiliy Alexandrovich Vydrin, all of whom worked at the Arctic penal colony IK-3 where Navalny was being detained.
President Joe Biden extended a national emergency that authorizes sanctions against people and entities in Libya, the White House said Feb. 21. The U.S. said the situation in Libya continues to pose a threat to American national security, citing ongoing violence in the country, human rights abuses, violations of the arms embargo imposed by U.N. Security Council and the misappropriation of Libya’s natural resources. The emergency was extended for one year beyond Feb. 25.