The U.K.'s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation fined London-based financial institution Clear Junction more than $49,000 for violating the country's sanctions on those violating the territorial sovereignty of Ukraine. From March to June 2018, Clear Junction conducted 15 transactions with accounts held at the EU-designated Russian National Commercial Bank. Clear Junction then made funds available to an individual designated under the Ukraine sanctions regime, OFSI said. Clear Junction made a voluntary disclosure, dropping the penalty by 26.7%. The financial services firm detailed eight of the transactions, but further investigation revealed nondisclosed payments from Clear Junction. TransferGo initiated the transactions, giving a Russian Bank Identification Code to Clear Junction to enable the transactions, OFSI said. TransferGo was fined in August for its role in the scheme.
The European Union added 40 individuals and entities to its sanctions regimes on ISIL and al-Qaida, Syria, Myanmar and entities involved in the Russian State Duma elections in Crimea. Under the ISIL sanctions list, the European Council added two individuals and two groups. The restrictive measures now apply to al-Qaida in the Indian subcontinent and its leader Osama Mahmood, along with Aziz Azam, spokesperson of ISIL-K -- the Islamic State's Khorasan Province -- and Da'esh Hind Province, an ISIL-affiliated group in India. The council said the sanctioned parties are planning attacks in Afghanistan and pose a serious threat to "regional and international stability."
Sanctions, rather than additional tariffs, are the most likely result of political pressure to not look soft on China, Bank of America analysts Ethan Harris and Aditya Bhave predicted. The two wrote in a Feb. 18 note that it's not surprising that China did not purchase the volume of U.S. exports it promised, but "what's unusual is the lack of follow-through from either side so far, other than empty rhetoric."
The Bureau of Industry and Security’s reorganization and clarification of its foreign direct product rules this month (see 2202020021) could allow the administration to more easily use the rule to target specific Russian sectors if Russia invades Ukraine (see 2202150043), Akin Gump said in a February alert. The law firm outlined how companies can examine recent BIS changes to the FDP rule as a “guide for analyses of the scope and impact of possible” new Russia controls, and how certain changes to the Export Administration Regulations would affect various exports to Russia. Companies should examine whether their foreign-produced items contain certain levels of U.S. origin content, Akin Gump said, and whether they would have to comply with new licensing restrictions if Russia were moved to a different EAR Country Group.
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President Joe Biden announced in a speech Feb. 22 that the U.S. will impose a series of sanctions on Russia for its continued aggression against Ukraine. Biden promised sanctions "far beyond what was implemented in 2014," in response to Russian recognition of the Luhansk and Donetsk republics on Feb. 21, which he called a "flagrant violation of international law." According to a Feb. 21 press call, the White House anticipated the possibility and was prepared to respond immediately. A senior administration official noted the measures were in response to "Russia’s recognition gambit" and that they are distinct from "swift and severe economic measures" prepared should Russia "further invade Ukraine."
The U.K.'s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation is amending six entries under its Syria sanctions regime, it said in a Feb. 17 notice. The entries for Bayan Bitar and Syrian Petroleum were altered with both still subject to an asset freeze. OFSI removed duplicate aliases from the listings of Samir Hassan, Mohammad Ali Jafari and Mohamed Ourjman. The U.K. also amended the entry for Adel Anwar Al-Olabi on the previous version of the consolidated list, still subjecting the individual to an asset freeze.
A group of countries aligned with the European Union's decision to add five individuals to its Mali sanctions regime, the European Council said in a Feb. 18 notice. North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Albania, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Ukraine also added the five individuals to their sanctions lists.
The Census Bureau Feb. 18 emailed tips on how to address the most frequent messages generated this month in the Automated Export System. Response code 515 is a fatal error for when the Export Control Classification Number wasn’t reported in the right format. The ECCN must be reported in a “NANNN format, where N is a numeric character and A is an alpha character,” the agency said. Census said the filer should verify the ECCN, correct the shipment and resubmit.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Feb. 17 sanctioned Sergio Armando Orozco Rodriguez for his involvement with the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG) in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico. CJNG traffics a “significant proportion” of fentanyl and other drugs into the U.S., OFAC said, and Rodriguez helps launder money for the group, and carries out extortion schemes. OFAC previously sanctioned CJNG in 2015 and 2021.