The U.N. Security Council this week added one entry to its sanctions list. The designation targets Somalia-based Abdullahi Osman Mohamed Caddow, who was sanctioned by the U.S. in 2020 for being a senior leader of al-Shabaab, a Somalia terrorist group and al-Qaida affiliate (see 2011170043).
The Office of Foreign Assets Control issued a new Russia-related general license this week that authorizes certain transactions involving Hungary-based International Investment Bank, which was sanctioned in April for being a Russia-controlled financial institution (see 2304120039). New GL 69 authorizes certain transactions “necessary to the processing of interest or principal payments on debt securities issued” by the bank before April 12, 2023. Those transactions are authorized through 12:01 a.m. EDT on June 30 as long as the interest or principal payments are not made to people located in Russia and that any payments to a sanctioned person are made into a blocked account in accordance with the Russian Harmful Foreign Activities Sanctions Regulations. Certain other conditions apply.
Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with the top stories from last week in case you missed them. You can find any article by searching for the title or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
The State Department this week announced the debarment of U.S.-based telecommunications company VTA Telecom to settle allegations it violated the International Traffic in Arms Regulations. The agency’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls imposed the three-year debarment, which prohibits VTA from participating in any activities subject to the ITAR, after it said VTA illegally exported defense goods to Vietnam and gave false statements on export documents.
The U.S. is considering an outbound investment regime that could restrict capital flows in the advanced semiconductor, artificial intelligence and quantum computing sectors, a senior Treasury Department official said this week, the administration’s first public confirmation of a potential scope for upcoming restrictions that have been under construction for months. Paul Rosen, the head of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., said the government is still working on the mechanism and declined to provide a release date, but stressed those three sectors are a priority.
The U.K.'s Export Control Joint Unit is hosting training programs June to December for strategic export control compliance. The ECJU said the training is for "companies of all sizes," all knowledge levels and "different learning paths." The sessions include events titled "Licence Workshop," "Making Better Licence Applications" and "Are my items controlled?"
The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls recently updated its fact sheet and guidance for its open general license pilot program that was announced last year (see 2207200005) and extended in March (see 2303280034). Updated frequently asked questions clarify that the licenses allow for “demilitarization of defense articles,” specify that the licenses can’t be used to reexport or retransfer items subject to Commerce Department export controls and outline how long the pilot program is slated to last.
The chair of the House Financial Services Committee is asking the Treasury Department for more information about potential outbound investment restrictions in China, including what types of investments in specific technologies would be targeted, whether the Biden administration plans to establish the regime through a national emergency and if the restrictions would be more effective than traditional trade restrictions. Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., is concerned outbound investment restrictions “would prove futile,” the lawmaker’s news release said, and would “further serve” China’s goal of “limiting the influence of Western firms in Chinese markets.”
The Office of Foreign Assets Control published previously issued General License 8G under its Russian Harmful Foreign Activities Sanctions Regulations. The full text of the license is available in the notice.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned two Syrian money service businesses this week, saying they help the Syrian regime, run by Bashar al-Assad, and its sanctioned allies access the international financial system. The designations target Damascus-based Al-Fadel Exchange along with the three brothers that own the company -- Fadel Ma’ruf Balwi, Mut’i Ma’ruf Balwi and Muhammad Ma’ruf Balwi -- and Al-Adham Exchange Company, also based in Damascus. The businesses have helped transfer millions of dollars to accounts at the U.S.-sanctioned Central Bank of Syria to benefit the Syrian government, OFAC said.