The Bureau of Industry and Security recently sent a final rule for interagency review that would make corrections and clarifications to the agency’s Russia and Belarus export controls. The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs received the rule May 13.
The U.S.-EU Trade and Technology Council agreed to several export control and investment screening initiatives during the TTC’s second meeting in Paris this week, including measures to better harmonize export licensing decisions and share information on screening practices (see 2205130071). The U.S. and the EU said these measures will help both sides continue their “unprecedented cooperation on export controls” against Russia and urged the working groups to “implement concrete actions” before the next ministerial meeting.
The Bureau of Industry and Security is considering several major changes to its administrative enforcement authorities, including publicizing its charging letters before cases are resolved and increasing penalty amounts for export violations. The agency may also limit its use of no admit/no deny settlements, which allow companies to avoid admitting explicit wrongdoing.
The US-EU Trade and Technology Council needs to limit its ambitions if it is to be successful, said Tyson Barker, head of the Technology and Global Affairs Program at the German Council on Foreign Relations, during a Washington International Trade Association webinar May 13.
The U.K. in a May 13 notice replaced the sanctions listing for one individual, removed another individual and amended the entries for 108 more under its Syria sanctions regime. The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation added Mohammad Al-Shaar to the sanctions list, replacing the entry for the same individual, formerly listed as Mohammad Ibrahim Al-Shaar. He's a Syrian military official involved in the violence in Homs.
The U.K. issued a General License May 12 allowing the Amsterdam Trade Bank, a subsidiary of the Russian Alfa-Bank, to make payments for its basic needs. ATB was listed under the U.K.'s Russia sanctions regime. The license, titled "Amsterdam Trade Bank N.V -- winding down, basic needs and insolvency related payments," permits any individual to make, receive or process any payments in connection with any insolvency proceeding with ATB. The license also allows any individual to wind down any transactions with ATB or a subsidiary. It expires May 12, 2023.
Switzerland froze $2.2 billion in Russian assets in the past five weeks, Swiss official Erwin Bollinger said at a government briefing May 12, Bloomberg reported. The total amount frozen by Switzerland now stands at nearly $6.3 billion -- a number that is down since April 7 because around $3.4 billion was released after being frozen on a precautionary basis, Bloomberg said. The announcement comes after Kremlin critic Bill Browder said at a U.S. government-sponsored briefing on Russian money that the U.S. should reconsider its legal cooperation with Switzerland, Bloomberg reported. Despite Switzerland imposing sanctions on Russia that mirror the EU's, greater attention is being paid to the Swiss role as a haven for Russian money.
The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls will launch an updated licensing application this summer in the Defense Export Control and Compliance System, the agency said in a notice last week. DDTC is updating the application to work in a new software platform, “providing greater flexibility, security and administration of the application to the support team,” the agency said. The update is a “significant step in DDTC’s effort to continuously modernize the DECCS application suite.” DDTC will hold a webinar June 9 to discuss the update, including a demonstration of the application, an overview of how it affects DDTC partners and a timeline for its release.
The Bureau of Industry and Security on May 13 opened registration for its annual export controls conference, with this year's theme of "Building a Network of Global Cooperation." The agency released information on the agenda, including what topics will be discussed. The conference will be held June 29 - July 1 in-person at the Marriott Marquis in Washington, D.C. Some portions of it also will be available virtually.
The U.K. added 12 individuals to its Russian sanctions regime in a May 13 notice. The listed parties are Alina Kabaeva, National Media Group board chair, and her grandmother, Anna Zatseplina; Viktor Khmarin, Russian lawyer linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin; Mikhail Klishin, SOGAZ insurance company board member; Vladimir Kolbin, Russian businessman; Lyudmila Ocheretnaya, Putin's ex-wife; Aleksandr Plekhov, Russian businessman; Igor Putin, director of International Sea Port of Pechenga; Mikhail Putin, Putin's cousin; Roman Putin, MRT Group of Companies board chair; Yuri Shamalov, Gazfond president; Mikhail Shelomov, Putin's cousin; and Anna Zatseplina, Kabaeva's grandmother.