The U.K.'s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation will move to a single list for all sanctions designations starting Jan. 28, the agency announced this week.
The U.S. and the U.K. this week sanctioned a range of people and entities that they said are involved in criminal networks that carry out online investment scams and launder stolen funds. The designations target networks in Southeast Asia, including the Cambodia-based Prince Group Transnational Criminal Organization, which is led by Cambodian national Chen Zhi and operates a “transnational criminal empire” through online scams targeting Americans and others.
China is imposing new port fees on U.S. ships and placing sanctions on five U.S. subsidiaries of South Korean shipbuilder Hanwha Marine Corporation in response to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative’s Section 301 investigation of China’s maritime, logistics and shipbuilding sectors (see 2506100023).
President Donald Trump, on his way to Israel, softened his message on tariffs on Chinese goods. When asked if imposing those tariffs was still the plan, he said, "Right now it is. Let's see what happens. November 1st is an eternity."
The Dutch government’s seizure of semiconductor firm Nexperia came amid U.S. pressure for the Netherlands to intervene in the company’s affairs, court records show. The U.S., in conversation with the Netherlands, cited the firm’s Chinese ownership and the fact that it was set to soon be captured by Entity List restrictions, including those under the Bureau of Industry and Security’s new 50% rule.
The U.K.’s ongoing public consultation about how it can improve its civil enforcement of financial sanctions (see 2507220056) -- including whether it should increase its maximum penalty amounts -- could lead to “greater scrutiny” and more investigations, Akin said this week in a client alert.
Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., announced Oct. 9 that he's introducing a resolution that calls for applying “all applicable sanctions authorities against officials of the Chinese Communist Party, including sanctions authorized by the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act.” The resolution accuses Chinese President Xi Jinping of "deceit, undermining prospects for peace and security, and orchestrating crimes against humanity." It lists dozens of examples of China's objectionable behavior, including supporting Russia’s war against Ukraine, threatening to take over Taiwan, conducting “genocide” against Uyghur Muslims and violating its World Trade Organization obligations.
Three Senate Democrats criticized the Trump administration late Oct. 9 for removing sanctions on former Paraguayan President Horacio Cartes (see 2510060056).
The Senate approved by voice vote late on Oct. 9 an amendment to the FY 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that would restrict U.S. outbound investment in China.
The Commerce Department is investigating Singapore-based data center company Megaspeed for potentially helping Chinese companies evade U.S. export controls on sensitive Nvidia chips, The New York Times reported last week. Megaspeed is reportedly poised to buy $2 billion of Nvidia AI technology over the next year, and the Commerce probe is looking into whether it has been indirectly funneling some of those chips to China, including to data centers in Malaysia and Indonesia that appear to be remotely serving Chinese customers. "U.S. officials have also been scrutinizing whether Megaspeed diverted some of those chips on to China, in violation of U.S. law," the report said.