Israel announced sanctions last week against an organization running a donation campaign that it said is crowdsourcing money to support the terror group Hezbollah. Israel’s Money Laundering and Terror Financing Prohibition Authority said the campaign has raised tens of thousands of dollars through donations from credit cards, bank transfers and PayPal. “The imposition of sanctions is another significant step in the economic struggle against Hezbollah and other terrorist organizations, with the aim of discouraging the public from participating in financing their activities,” the Israeli agency said, according to an unofficial translation. The notice didn’t name the organization.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control last week sanctioned Integrity Technology Group, Inc., a Beijing cybersecurity company that it said has been involved in multiple cyberattacks against U.S. people or companies.
The Bureau of Industry and Security is adding 13 companies and research institutes to the Entity List for illegally shipping export controlled items to other Entity Listed firms, supporting China’s military modernization efforts or aiding Pakistan’s ballistic missile program, the agency said in a final rule released last week and effective Jan. 6
Incoming House Financial Services Committee Chairman French Hill, R-Ark., said Jan. 3 that he plans to consult with the incoming Trump administration before possibly taking action on legislation to restrict U.S. outbound investment in China.
China announced new export controls on American defense contractors Jan. 2, adding some firms to a list that bans them from receiving dual-use items and adding another set of companies to its so-called Unreliable Entity List.
The Bureau of Industry and Security on Dec. 31 suspended the export privileges of four people after they were convicted of export-related offenses, including illegal shipments involving guns, ammunition and Iranian oil. The suspensions took effect from the date of their convictions.
Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., is joining the Senate Foreign Relations Committee this month for the new 119th Congress, incoming Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., announced Jan. 2.
The U.K. on Jan. 2 removed Abdelhafiz Zlitni from its Libya sanctions list. The U.K. had listed Zlitni as the minister for planning and finance of the Libyan government under Colonel Muammar Gaddafi.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control was one of multiple Treasury Department offices recently breached by Chinese government hackers, the Washington Post reported this week. Treasury reportedly disclosed the hack in a Dec. 30 letter to lawmakers, saying that it was still assessing the impact. The agency added that the documents accessed were unclassified and there was no evidence the hacker still has access to Treasury systems.
China’s Ministry of Commerce this week published proposed updates to its list of technologies subject to export controls, including new and revised restrictions on technology used to make battery parts and process certain critical minerals, according to an unofficial translation. If China moves forward with the controls, it would further restrict critical minerals such as lithium and gallium along with the technology used to process them, Reuters reported Jan. 2. The controls are reportedly open for public comment until Feb. 1.