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 the title or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
The EU agreed to a partial ban on Russian oil ahead of a sixth sanctions package on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. The ban applies to the purchase of crude oil and petroleum products from Russia delivered to EU member states by sea. A temporary exclusion applies to crude shipped via pipeline. European Council President Charles Michel confirmed the agreement on a partial ban on Russian oil in a May 30 tweet following a summit in Brussels. "This immediately covers more than 2/3 of oil imports from Russia, cutting a huge source of financing for its war machine," the tweet said.
The Bureau of Industry and Security soon will introduce a congressional notification requirement for certain firearm exports, the agency said in a final rule. The change, effective July 18, will add a new section to the Export Administration Regulations that will require congressional reporting for certain semiautomatic firearms shipments valued at $4 million or more and destined to certain countries. The requirement will apply to certain guns whose export control authority was transferred from the State Department to the Commerce Department in 2020 (see 2001170030).
The U.K. issued a license allowing the sale of Chelsea Football Club, Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries confirmed in a tweet. The club was subject to an asset freeze after owner and Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich was sanctioned by the U.K. in March related to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The club was sold to a consortium led by American businessman Todd Boehly. Dorries also said May 26 the U.K. government is confident the integrity of the sanctions regime will be maintained throughout the sale and proceeds will be transferred to a frozen U.K. bank account belonging to Fordstam -- a holding company owned by Abramovich. The U.K. agreed to a Deed of Undertaking that would have Abramovich commit the proceeds to a charity for the purposes of helping victims of the war in Ukraine. The sale also needed the approval of the Portuguese government because Abramovich is a Portuguese passport holder. The Portuguese government gave their consent on May 26, per the Associated Press.
Jonathan Yet Wing Soong, former employee at Universities Space Research Association, was charged with violating export control laws by shipping sensitive aeronautics software to a university in Beijing, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California announced. Soong, of San Jose, is charged with violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and and one count of smuggling, which, respectively, carry maximum penalties of 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine, and 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Two companies said they didn’t face any penalties from the Office of Foreign Assets Control after disclosing potential sanctions violations, according to their most recent SEC filings. Baker Hughes, an American oil services company, said it received a “cautionary letter” from OFAC after voluntarily disclosing potential sanctions violations last year. The company said it told OFAC in September that some of its non-U.S. affiliates may have received payments subject to certain sanctions and debt restrictions and that had U.S. touch points. Baker Hughes received a warning letter from OFAC in February, the company said. The company said it’s still being investigated by the SEC (see 2103040065). Semrush Holdings, a Boston software company that disclosed potential sanctions violations last year (see 2103190020), said it won’t face any penalties from OFAC. The agency “decided not to pursue any enforcement action against us and the matter has been closed,” Semrush said.
Switzerland dropped Ahmad Zargar, Mohammad Hejazi and Seyyed Hasan Firuzabadi from its Iran sanctions regime, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs said in a May 24 amendment. The three individuals were also delisted by the EU and the U.K.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control updated a list of items defined as medical supplies and licensed for export or reexport to the Crimea region of Ukraine. The changes, effective May 31, include replacing the reference to General License 4 with a reference to the location of the license in the Ukraine-/Russia-Related Sanctions Regulations, OFAC said. The agency also made "several technical corrections to items on the List, but is not making any substantive changes to the List."
The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned one person, two banks and a trading company for their support of North Korean weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs and North Korea's national airline, which is sanctioned by the U.S. Yong Nam Jong, of Minsk, Belarus, has "directly supported or helped generate revenue for [North Korean] organizations that are linked to the development of ballistic missiles," a May 27 news release said. Air Koryo Trading, Far Eastern Bank and Sputnik Commercial Bank also were sanctioned after having been found to have contributed to procurement and revenue generation for North Korean organizations. Brian Nelson, Treasury Department undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said the U.S. "will continue to implement and enforce existing sanctions while urging [North Korea] to return to a diplomatic path and abandon its pursuit of weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles.”
The Office of Foreign Assets Control last week renewed a general license authorizing transactions between certain companies and Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. General License No. 8J, which replaces No. 8I (see 2111290007), authorizes transactions between PdVSA and Chevron, Halliburton, Schlumberger, Baker Hughes and Weatherford International, with certain restrictions, through 12:01 a.m. EDT Dec. 1, 2022. The license was scheduled to expire June. 1.