The EU sanctioned six people for undermining "the stability and political transition of Sudan," the Council of the European Union announced June 24. The sanctions come amid fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces. The council sanctioned Abdulrahman Juma Barakallah, an RSF general commanding troops in West Darfur, along with the RSF's financial adviser and a "prominent tribal leader." Related to the SAF, the council sanctioned the director general of sanctioned company Defense Industry System, Sudanese Air Force Commander El Tahir Mohamed El Awad El Amin and former Sudanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Ahmed Karti Mohamed.
Canada recently imposed another round of sanctions to address gang violence in Haiti, targeting three Haitian gang leaders for human rights violations or for undermining peace in the country. The country sanctioned Luckson Elan, Gabriel Jean-Pierre and Ferdens Tilus. “Canada will not remain idle while criminal gangs in Haiti commit unspeakable violence, terrorize vulnerable populations with impunity and undermine efforts to restore law and order in the country,” said Mélanie Joly, Canada’s foreign affairs minister. The country has sanctioned a range of Haitian gang leaders and members of the Haitian elite in recent months for violence, corruption, drug trafficking and more (see 2301130019, 2212200016, 2212060008, 2211210026 and 2211040064).
The State Department sent an interim final rule for interagency review that would make “targeted revisions” to items on the U.S. Munitions List. The rule, sent to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs June 21, would revise and exclude USML entries that no longer warrant inclusion and add entries for critical and emerging technologies that warrant more strict export licensing requirements. The rule “also seeks to limit the items categorized” in USML Category XXI (Articles, Technical Data, and Defense Services Not Otherwise Enumerated) by “updating the appropriate USML paragraph,” the agency said.
The Biden administration is working with lawmakers on a bill that could give the Bureau of Industry and Security legal authority to restrict certain exports of artificial intelligence software to foreign adversaries, said Tarun Chhabra, the NSC’s senior director for technology and national security.
The Biden administration is close to issuing a new national security memorandum on artificial intelligence, which is expected to address technology security issues surrounding advanced AI models and related software, National Security Council officials said this week.
The EU this week unveiled its 14th sanctions package against Russia for its war on Ukraine, including new due diligence rules for companies with counterparties that may be selling to Russia. The package also includes new measures to prevent sanctions evasion, new import and export controls, a set of servicing restrictions on certain Russian energy shipments, designations of more than 100 people and entities, and more.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control last week sanctioned 12 executives working for Kaspersky, the Russian cybersecurity software firm, for working in Russia’s technology sector. The designations target senior officials of AO Kaspersky Lab one day after the Commerce Department announced that it would be adding the lab, as well as Russia-based OOO Kaspersky Group and U.K.-based Kaspersky Labs Limited, to the Entity List (see 2406200032).
Canada recently imposed export controls on five technologies related to quantum technology, advanced semiconductors and semiconductor equipment, the country said in a June 19 notice. The controls took effect June 20.
The Treasury Department last week issued a set of proposed regulations that could introduce new prohibitions and notification requirements on U.S. investments in China, Hong Kong and Macau as the Biden administration works toward finalizing the new rules before year-end (see 2405080039). The proposed rule, which builds on an advance notice of proposed rulemaking Treasury issued in August (see 2308090066), outlines how the agency would implement new bans on certain types of outbound American investments in China’s semiconductor, quantum and artificial intelligence industries, as well as notification requirements for other, broader investments in China’s chip and AI sectors.
Adam Safwat, a former deputy chief of DOJ's fraud section, has joined Foley Hoag as a partner in the white collar crime and government investigations practice, the firm announced. Safwat will be based in Washington, D.C., and will focus on Foreign Corrupt Practices Act investigations, sanctions, political corruption and financial fraud, the firm said. Safwat most recently was a partner at Nelson Mullins.