The Biden administration is “developing additional potential sanctions” that it could impose on leaders of Sudan’s two warring parties if they continue to resist participating in peace talks, a State Department official said Sept. 11.
The Treasury Department this week sanctioned 16 Venezuelan officials that it said have ties to the Nicolas Maduro regime and who obstructed the country’s recent presidential elections (see 2407290044). The designated officials include leaders of the Maduro-aligned National Electoral Council and the Supreme Tribunal of Justice, which Treasury said “impeded a transparent electoral process and the release of accurate election results,” along with military, intelligence and government officials “responsible for intensifying repression through intimidation, indiscriminate detentions, and censorship.” The Biden administration will “continue to use our tools to hold Maduro and his cronies accountable and support the democratic aspirations of the Venezuelan people,” Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned Cambodian businessman Ly Yong Phat, his company L.Y.P. Group Co., LTD, and the O‑Smach Resort for their ties to serious human rights abuses, including forced labor. The agency also designated Cambodia-based Garden City Hotel, Koh Kong Resort and Phnom Penh Hotel for being owned or controlled by Ly.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week issued new guidance about the exclusions available under Russia-related information technology and software services restrictions that took effect Sept. 12.
The Council of the European Union on Sept. 12 extended until March 15 sanctions on those responsible for undermining the sovereignty of Ukraine. The restrictions currently cover over 2,200 people and entities. As part of the six-month extension, the council removed two people from the sanctions regime and dropped five deceased people from the list.
Chinese and Dutch government officials met in China this week to discuss export restrictions as part of the fifth round of the two countries’ formal export control dialogue, China’s Ministry of Commerce announced, according to an unofficial translation. Officials discussed “issues of concern in the field of export control,” China said, and “agreed to further strengthen communication and exchanges” and “jointly maintain the stability of the semiconductor industry chain and supply chain.” The meeting was held days after the Netherlands put in place new export controls over certain semiconductor manufacturing tools (see 2409090024).
The Bureau of Industry and Security could use more export enforcement agents abroad and better analytical tools to track illegal shipments, said Matthew Axelrod, the agency’s top export enforcement official. He also said companies should expect BIS to continue to issue large corporate enforcement penalties for export control violations.
A new final rule issued by the Bureau of Industry and Security this week will codify a host of updates the agency made to its administrative enforcement policies over the past three years, including measures to help BIS more quickly resolve minor voluntary disclosures and increase penalties on exporters who choose not to report serious violations. Other changes will give BIS broader discretion to impose higher fines, including by eliminating language that had capped maximum base civil penalties for “non-egregious” violations.
Gal Haimovich, an Israeli national, pleaded guilty Sept. 9 to conspiracy to commit export control and smuggling violations for his part in a scheme to ship aircraft parts and avionics equipment from the U.S. to Russia, DOJ announced. Haimovich admitted to "deceiving U.S. companies about the true destination of the goods at issue" and attempting to hide the scheme by submitting false information in export documents submitted to the U.S. government.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control is seeking public comments on information collections involving its Reporting, Procedures and Penalties Regulations; the Cuban Assets Control Regulations; the Iran Financial Sanctions Regulations; and the Hizballah Financial Sanctions Regulations, it said in a notice released Sept. 11. Comments are due Nov. 12.