An Indian national was sentenced Jan. 15 to 30 months in prison for conspiring with others to illegally "export controlled aviation components and a navigation and flight control system to end users in Russia," the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Oregon announced. Sanjay Kaushik pleaded guilty in October to conspiring to sell export-controlled dual-use goods to Russian end users.
Reps. Chris Smith, R-N.J., and Maria Salazar, R-Fla., reintroduced a bill Jan. 14 that would impose economic sanctions on Nicaragua’s government for human rights violations, including the persecution of clergy and political dissidents. The Restoring Sovereignty and Human Rights in Nicaragua Act, which the lawmakers previously introduced in the last Congress (see 2401110055), was referred to the House Foreign Affairs, Financial Services, Judiciary, and Ways and Means committees.
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., introduced a bill Jan. 14 that would direct the president to impose financial sanctions on foreign government officials who prevent the delivery of humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza and elsewhere.
The Council of the European Union on Jan. 16 extended its sanctions measures on Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad for one year, pushing the measures to Jan. 20, 2027. The restrictions currently apply to 11 people and three entities.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control last week sanctioned 21 people and entities, along with one vessel, for helping to move oil, weapons and dual-use goods for the Iran-backed Houthis. The designations targeted what OFAC said are "financial conduits" between the Iranian government and the Houthis, as well as "front companies, facilitators, and operatives" in Yemen, Oman and the United Arab Emirates that are part of the Houthis’ "vast revenue generation and smuggling networks."
Members responding to the American Chamber of Commerce in China's 2026 business survey cited slower customs clearances, export licenses and related approvals, and import and export controls as the non-tariff barriers they have most frequently faced over the past year, and more than half said their "operational and investment decisions" have been "significantly impacted" by export controls.
DOJ unveiled last week that it had seized two "mission crew trainers" in 2024 that allegedly were bound for the Chinese military from a South African flight academy on the Entity List. The agency made the announcement Jan. 15 while filling a forfeiture complaint for both trainers with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
Although the Trump administration plans to allow Nvidia H200 chips to be exported to China, a White House official stressed last week that those exports will be closely scrutinized and that the U.S. will continue to restrict exports of the most leading-edge American chips and technology. Michael Kratsios, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, also said he doesn’t believe the Bureau of Industry and Security needs any additional authorities from Congress to boost its export control implementation or enforcement powers.
The EU and the U.K. plan to lower their price caps on Russian crude oil from $47.60 per barrel to $44.10 per barrel, they announced this week. The new price will take effect Feb. 1, although a transitional period through April 16 will permit certain payments of $47.60 per barrel for contracts that were concluded before 11:01 GMT on Jan. 31 for the U.K. and before Jan. 16 for the EU, according to FAQs released by the two entities. The U.K.'s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation also updated its price cap general license to reflect the change.
The Netherlands is considering a new sanctions bill that could give the country power to impose administrative penalties alongside its existing criminal framework, create a “central reporting point” for sanctions, and put in place other measures to modernize the country’s sanctions implementation and rules, Dutch law firm Knepplehout said in a client alert this month.