Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., introduced a version of a bill that would impose a host of sweeping new sanctions against Russia in the event it invades Ukraine, including new restrictions on Russian debt and broad sanctions against the country’s extractive industries. The bill, introduced in the House last week, also would authorize certain sanctions against the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, designate Russian financial institutions and expedite military assistance for Ukraine, similar to its companion bill in the Senate (see 2201120036).
The Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network is seeking public comments on a potential pilot program that would give financial institutions more freedom to share suspicious activity reports, according to a Jan. 24 notice. The program would allow institutions to share SARs with their foreign branches, subsidiaries and affiliates to better combat illicit finance and transactions that may violate U.S. sanctions or anti-money laundering regulations. Institutions are currently only allowed to share with their head offices or controlling companies. Comments on the proposed program are due March 28.
Akin Gump broadened its international trade practice with the addition of two former U.S. government officials and sanctions and export controls lawyers, the firm announced. Elyse Martin, former official at the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control, and George Pence, former assistant U.S. attorney in the Central District of California, have joined the firm as senior counsel. While at OFAC, Martin served as the assistant director for Regulatory Affairs for two years and for over a year as chief of sanctions program implementation in the Sanctions Compliance and Evaluation Division, the firm said. As assistant U.S. attorney, Pence worked on investigations and prosecutions pertaining to export crimes, terrorism and other national security matters, it said.
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network is adjusting its civil monetary penalties for inflation, the agency said in a notice. The new amounts include higher maximum penalties for various recordkeeping and banking violations associated with illegal funds transfers, which can sometimes violate U.S. sanctions. The changes take effect Jan. 24.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control designated Hezbollah-affiliated financial facilitator Adnan Ayad to its Specially Designated Nationals List on Jan. 21. Ayad’s business partner Adel Diab was designated on Jan. 18 (see 2201180011). According to OFAC, Ayad is a Hezbollah member and businessman who, with Diab, operates an international network of companies. The two have used their Lebanon-based company, Al Amir Co. for Engineering, Construction, and General Trade SARL, to raise funds and launder money for Hezbollah.
Three export controls and trade experts submitted a 40-page paper this month to help guide the work of the U.S.-EU Trade and Technology Council’s export control working group (see 2111290014). The paper -- submitted by the Center for a New American Security's Emily Kilcrease and Akin Gump lawyers Kevin Wolf and Jasper Helder -- includes a broad outline of the purpose of export controls and the U.S. and European Union legal authorities available to implement them. It also describes steps the U.S. and the EU would need to take to implement new, coordinated controls and a set of questions to consider while developing the controls, including whether the U.S. and the EU will push for better alignment across license exceptions, encryption controls, cyber-surveillance controls and enforcement.
The Commerce Department should publish a list of controlled emerging and foundational technologies 90 days after the Senate confirmation of its Bureau of Industry and Security leader, China Tech Threat's Future of BIS said. Strand Consult operates China Tech Threat, which advocates for stronger export controls on China. Despite congressional pressure (see 2111170064), BIS has repeatedly said it doesn’t plan to publish an exhaustive list of controlled emerging and foundational technologies but rather will issue controls on a continuous basis. A BIS spokesperson didn’t comment.
The U.S. and the European Union should better align their export license exceptions, export controls and policies to avoid “unnecessary friction on trade” between the two sides, particularly surrounding chip equipment, the Semiconductor Industry Association said. The group said American semiconductor companies depend on overseas markets in Europe, and regulatory harmonization could help to “level playing fields with respect to export controls, particularly their scope, application, and enforcement.”
The United Kingdom amended its Burundi sanctions regime in a January regulation following the largely peaceful transfer of power in the African nation resulting from the May 2020 elections. The changes "revoke and replace" the 2019 Burundi sanctions regime with its new sanctions parameters, drop the criteria for listing individuals or entities over their obstruction of the search for a peaceful solution to Burundi's political situation, and remove language encouraging the Burundi government to bring about a peaceful solution to its political situation. The U.S. has already revoked its Burundi sanctions regime to reflect the same changes.
Seven countries aligned with the EU's Dec. 13 decision to add two individuals and three entities to its Syria sanctions regime, the European Council said in a Jan. 19 news release. The countries are North Macedonia, Montenegro, Albania, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Georgia.