The U.K. on Aug. 2 renewed a sanctions license allowing for certain sales, divestments or transfers of "financial instruments" held by the Russian Central Securities Depository. The license now runs through Oct. 12.
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Ben Cardin, D-Md., Aug. 1 encouraged U.S. allies and partners to impose more sanctions on those waging Sudan’s civil war.
The Senate Appropriations Committee is concerned that Chinese Communist Party-backed companies may be “exploiting” the U.S. bankruptcy process to obtain American companies’ sensitive and proprietary information, the panel wrote in a new report accompanying its version of the FY 2025 Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act.
The U.N. Security Council and the U.K. removed two people tied to Yemen from their sanctions lists, including former Yemen President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who died in 2017. They also removed his son, Ahmed Ali Abdullah Saleh, who the council said has “played a key role in facilitating the Houthi military expansion,” after lobbying from Yemeni leaders, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, Arabic newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat reported Aug. 2. Ahmed Ali Abdullah Saleh is Yemen’s ambassador to the UAE.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control renewed two Russia-related general licenses last week that authorize transactions related to debt, equity or currency-conversion. Both licenses were scheduled to expire Aug. 13 but now expire 12:01 a.m. EDT Oct. 12.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control is transitioning to a new online compliance hotline platform that it said will allow the agency to more efficiently respond to sanctions-related requests and questions from the public. Users can now submit queries directly through the OFAC Compliance Hotline page, the agency announced Aug. 2, which will help the “tracking of queries and help OFAC assess when additional public guidance may be helpful.” The agency said it plans to retire its current compliance hotline email adress on Aug. 16 and phone number on Dec. 31, and will fully transition to the online portal starting Jan. 1.
Companies should generally lean toward disclosing serious violations to the government -- especially those that involve national security issues -- even if there’s almost no chance the violation will be discovered, lawyers said last week.
The European Commission last week released a set of updated frequently asked questions on its Russia-related sanctions, offering guidance on how it treats "partner countries" in the context of its iron and steel restrictions and export controls.
Jordan Goudreau of Melbourne, Florida, and Yacsy Alvarez of Tampa were charged with conspiracy to violate export laws, smuggling goods from the U.S., violating the Arms Export Control Act and violating the Export Control Reform Act, DOJ announced. The pair allegedly conspired with others to ship "AR-type firearms, night vision devices, laser sights and other equipment" from the U.S. to Colombia.
A U.S. digital assets company and a European aerospace firm recently disclosed in financial statements that they're under investigation for possible violations of sanctions or export control laws, while an American entertainment company revealed it submitted a sanctions disclosure to the U.S. government.