The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned two senior Iranian intelligence officials involved in the 2007 abduction of a U.S. law enforcement agent, OFAC said Dec. 14. The sanctions target Mohammad Baseri and Ahmad Khazai, officials at Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security, for the abduction of Robert Levinson, a retired FBI agent at the time who was working as a private investigator.
The Treasury Department said it has not found evidence of any foreign banks facilitating “significant transactions” for the Hong Kong officials sanctioned by the U.S. in August (see 2008070039), the agency said in a report released to Congress Dec. 11. Treasury said it will “continue to monitor for any activity that meets these criteria” and will “engage foreign governments” and financial institutions “to ensure they understand the reporting requirements and sanctions risks under” the Hong Kong Autonomy Act (see 2007140068), the report said. The agency said it has had “constructive conversations” with “foreign counterparts across the globe” about complying with U.S. sanctions and has asked other governments to “communicate these requirements and risks to financial institutions within their respective jurisdictions.”
The U.S. announced sanctions on Turkey for buying Russian missile defense systems, saying Dec. 14 the purchases provide “substantial funds” to Russia’s defense sector and harm U.S. national security. The sanctions target Turkey’s Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB) and several SSB officials, including SSB President Ismail Demir, Vice President Faruk Yigit, and air defense officials Serhat Gencoglu and Mustafa Alper Deniz.
The European Union expects to publish a range of export control guidelines in 2021 and will likely use the year to decide whether it will restrict exports of certain facial recognition technologies, EU officials said. Those guidelines and decisions will be released as part of the EU’s new dual-use export control regime (see 2011100021), which officials expect to take effect this coming summer.
The U.S. and the European Union will hold export control discussions this week to share information on emerging technology restrictions and countries and companies of concern, according to the European Commission and the U.S. Commerce Department. The discussions, scheduled for Dec. 15 and 16, will include senior officials from Commerce and the State Department and high-level trade officers from the commission and EU member states, a commission spokesperson said in a Dec. 14 email. Others participating include export control and technology experts from EU member states, a representative from the German presidency of the Council of the EU and the commission’s chief trade enforcement officer.
Ambassadors to the World Trade Organization said they're hoping the new Joe Biden administration will line up behind Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala for director-general, and will get serious about finding a way to resuscitate the Appellate Body, though they acknowledged the latter may have to wait for the COVID-19 crisis in America to subside. Ambassadors from Canada, Japan, Singapore, Australia and Switzerland spoke on a webinar Dec. 11 hosted by the Washington International Trade Association.
The United Kingdom’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation added 11 entries under its global human rights sanctions regime, it said Dec. 10. The designations target 11 politicians, officials and other human rights violators in Russia, Venezuela, The Gambia and Pakistan, it said. This is the third time the U.K. has imposed sanctions under its human rights regime since launching it in July (see 2007060025).
The European Union is bracing for a large workload and host of new “responsibilities” as it prepares to implement its new dual-use export control regime, said Denis Redonnet, the European Commission’s chief trade enforcement officer. Redonnet said the regime will “test” EU agencies and governments and will only succeed with cooperation from industry experts.
Foley Hoag hired Luciano Racco, previously assistant general counsel at Raytheon Technologies’ Collins Aerospace division, as counsel and co-chair of its Trade Sanctions and Export Control practice, the law firm said in a news release Nov. 30.
The Treasury Department sanctioned 20 people and entities and the State Department sanctioned 17 people for human rights violations, the agencies said Dec. 10. Treasury’s sanctions target government and military officials in Haiti, Yemen and Russia, six Russian companies and other people in Russia associated with Ramzan Kadyrov, the sanctioned head of the Chechen Republic. The State Department’s sanctions target 17 foreign government officials in El Salvador, Jamaica and China, including Chief Huang Yuanxiong of the Xiamen Public Security Bureau Wucun Police Station. The agency’s sanctions also target the officials’ immediate family members.