The Council of the EU on July 26 sanctioned nine people and one entity for committing human rights violations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Proposed U.S. export controls issued by the Bureau of Industry and Security last week are meant to “prevent hack-for-hire business models from circumventing our human rights-based export controls,” including U.S. restrictions on “cyber-intrusion tools,” said Thea Kendler, the agency’s assistant secretary for export administrations. In a news release announcing the proposed rules, Kendler said the restrictions could improve “controls on activities supporting foreign police and security services, including those known to violate human rights.”
A majority of companies and business groups that answered survey questions from the European Commission this year said they were in favor of new EU measures to monitor outbound investments in a narrow set of advanced technologies. But they also cautioned the bloc against placing too heavy a compliance obligation on European companies, with some arguing the reporting should be voluntary.
A Massachusetts financial services firm agreed to pay a nearly $7.5 million penalty after the Office of Foreign Assets Control accused its subsidiary of revising dates on invoices to skirt certain financial restrictions on dealings in new Russia-related debt. OFAC said the company’s 38 violations of the Ukraine-/Russia-Related Sanctions Regulations involved more than $1.2 million worth of invoices for companies owned by Russia’s Sberbank and VTB Bank.
The European Commission on July 24 updated its consolidated list of frequently asked questions on its sanctions regimes for Russia and Belarus. The new FAQs update guidance on how sanctions impact depositary receipts, asset swaps, data sharing, advisory services, and more.
The U.K. Solicitors Regulation Authority reported two "suspicions of breaches of the Russia Sanctions regime" to the U.K.'s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation in the past year, the body said in its annual report for the year that ended April 5. The authority said the breaches involved "firms facilitating transactions" of more than $386,000. The report didn't provide more details.
The Senate Appropriations Committee unveiled and approved an FY 2025 Commerce-Justice-Science Appropriations Bill July 25 that would provide $206 million for the Bureau of Industry and Security, $17 million below the Biden administration’s request but $15 million above the FY 2024 enacted level and $19.3 million above what the House Appropriations Committee has proposed (see 2403110065 and 2406250035).
U.S. intelligence agencies are warning American emerging technology startups about the risks of accepting certain foreign investments, saying “foreign threat actors” from China and elsewhere are using those investments as a guise to steal sensitive technology.
The EPA is finalizing amendments to hazardous waste manifest regulations and to hazardous waste electronic manifest (e-Manifest) regulations under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), it said in a notice in the Federal Register. The agency says these actions should increase the utility of the e-Manifest system, reduce administrative burden and improve tracking of hazardous waste shipments.
Australia this week announced Magnitsky-style human rights sanctions against seven Israelis and one entity for violence against Palestinians in the West Bank. The designations target Yinon Levi, Zvi Bar Yosef, Neria Ben Pazi, Elisha Yered, David Chai Chasdai, Einan Tanjil, Meir Ettinger and Hilltop Youth, according to Australia's updated sanctions list. Australia said Hilltop Youth is “responsible for inciting and perpetrating violence against Palestinian communities.”