A set of new rules released last week by the Commerce and State departments will reduce licensing requirements for exports of certain space-related items to a range of U.S. trading partners and propose to transfer export control jurisdiction over other space-related defense items from the State Department to the Commerce Department, lowering trade barriers faced by the commercial space industry for years.
The Bureau of Industry and Security on Oct. 23 will add 26 companies and people to the Entity List for trying to buy controlled U.S. items for China’s military, evade sanctions against Russia, supply sensitive goods to Iran or Pakistan, or for evading U.S. end-use checks, the agency said in a final rule released Oct. 21. BIS will also remove two entities from the list and update the address information for another entity.
Brad Brooks-Rubin, who left his role at the State Department’s Office of Sanctions Coordination last week (see 2410150028), has joined Washington, D.C., compliance advisory firm Arktouros as a partner, he announced on LinkedIn. He will advise on risks related to sanctions, corruption, anti-money laundering and more.
Diego Ortega, former sanctions regulations adviser at the Office of Foreign Assets Control, has joined Faegre Drinker as a government and regulatory counsel, the firm announced. Ortega worked for over three years at OFAC, where he drafted and published regulations implementing U.S. sanctions authorities and general licenses.
The U.S. and 10 other countries are creating a new Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team to report on North Korea sanctions violations and evasion after Russia earlier this year vetoed a U.N. Security Council proposal that would have extended the “panel of experts” that had been monitoring U.N. sanctions against North Korea.
The U.S. this week sanctioned 18 companies, people and ships that it said have ties to a network run by Sa’id al-Jamal, an Iran-backed financial facilitator for the Yemen-based Houthis. The designations target captains of vessels transporting oil on behalf of the network that also benefits the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force, including Iranian national Ali Barkhordar and Pakistani national Wahid Ullah Durrani. Other destinations target companies and people managing those ships, including Marshall Islands-registered Changtai Shipping Ltd., United Arab Emirates-based Indo Gulf Ship Management LLC and boats sailing with the flags of Panama, the Cook Islands, Barbados and Palau.
The U.K. on Oct. 17 added Russian energy company Rasgazdobycha JSC to its Russia sanctions regime, the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation announced. OFSI added the company for supporting the Russian government by conducting business in an area of strategic significance, namely, the energy sector.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned three entities and one person it said are involved in the development and production of Russia’s Garpiya series long-range attack drones, which Moscow uses in its war against Ukraine.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Oct. 17 removed sanctions from Atlas Doviz Ticaret A.S., a Turkish firm it originally sanctioned in 2019 for being used to provide foreign currency exchange services to Iran’s Ansar Bank and its currency exchange arm. OFAC didn’t release more information.
Vietnam Beverage Company Limited reached an $860,000 settlement with the Office of Foreign Assets Control after the agency said two of the company’s subsidiaries violated U.S. sanctions against North Korea. OFAC said the subsidiaries, which produce and sell alcoholic drinks, illegally received more than $1.4 million in payments through U.S. banks for sales of alcohol to North Korea.