The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Connecticut charged a group of European individuals and entities with violating U.S. export laws by trying to ship a dual-use export-controlled item to Russia, the office announced Oct. 19, the day after the indictment was unsealed. The investigation was coordinated by the Task Force KleptoCapture, an interagency group that also works with other countries to enforce U.S. sanctions.
A U.S. appeals court on July 8 affirmed a 2020 District of Columbia court ruling dismissing FedEx’s lawsuit against the Bureau of Industry and Security, saying the shipping company failed to show BIS acted outside its authority. The court also rejected FedEx’s claims that the agency was using the Export Administration Regulations to apply overly burdensome liability standards on carriers and penalize them even when carriers do not have knowledge of violations.
Thomas Krueger, former director of strategic trade and nonproliferation on the National Security Council, has joined Akin Gump as a senior policy adviser, according to a LinkedIn post from firm partner Kevin Wolf. Krueger worked for a decade at the State Department, most recently as a senior policy adviser, before joining the NSC, where he served from 2020 to June 2022. Per his new firm, Krueger advises clients on compliance with the International Traffic in Arms Regulations and the Export Administration Regulations, along with transfer policies for emerging technologies.
Sanctions and export controls attorney Susan Kovarovics, a former partner at Bryan Cave, has joined Akin Gump as an international trade partner in the Washington, D.C., office, the firm announced. Kovarovics' practice centers around compliance issues involving International Traffic in Arms Regulations, Export Administration Regulations, Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctions and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the firm said.
Anthony Rapa, a former partner at Kirkland & Ellis, joined Blank Rome as a partner in its National Security practice, the firm announced. Blank Rome said Rapa will work on "sanctions and export control-related matters in cross-border transactions, mergers and acquisitions, government investigations, and regulatory matters." Such issues under Rapa's portfolio include regulations administered under the Export Administration Regulations, the Bureau of Industry and Security and the International Traffic in Arms Regulations.
Michelle Schulz, a former member of the President's Export Council Subcommittee on Export Administration, rejoined the Braumiller Law Group as of counsel, the firm announced in an email. Schulz was one of the founders of the Braumiller Law Group, helping start the firm in 2003 when it was known as Braumiller Schulz. Schulz also served for a decade as a senior adviser to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative's Industry Trade Advisory Committee for Aerospace. Her practice deals with export controls, including matters under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations and Export Administration Regulations, along with Foreign Corrupt Practices Act cases and Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. regulations, the firm said.
Six individuals were named in an indictment at the U.S. District Court for Central California for their roles in a scheme to smuggle weapons and ammunition from the U.S. to a Mexican drug cartel, the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California said Jan. 24. Four of the six were arrested Jan. 19 as part of Operation Semper Infidelis conducted by a Los Angeles Strike Force investigation. The operation targeted a weapons trafficking organization that provided firearms and ammunition to the Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacion. The indictment charges the six individuals with conspiracy to violate federal export laws by shipping the weapons to Mexico.
Peter Sotis and Emilie Voissem, two Florida residents, were sentenced Jan. 12 for conspiring to and illegally attempting to ship export-controlled rebreather diving equipment to Libya, the Department of Justice said. Sotis will spend 57 months in prison while Voissem will serve a five-month sentence in prison and a five-month term in home confinement. The scheme to illegally export the rebreather equipment -- an item that is export controlled due to its enhanced underwater breathing capabilities and dual use as a military and civilian item -- was hatched in August 2016.
Christopher Monahan has joined Faegre Drinker as a partner in its Washington, D.C.-based customs and international trade practice, the firm announced. Monahan, formerly of Winston & Strawn, has advised clients on U.S. international trade and investment regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, the Export Administration Regulations and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the firm said.
Peter Sotis of Delray Beach, Florida, and Emilie Voissem of Sunrise, Florida, were convicted of participating in an illegal export scheme to ship rebreather diving equipment to Libya, the Department of Justice said. Rebreathers, which have dual civilian and military applications, are included on the Commerce Control List and require an export license from the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security. Sotis and Voissem did not acquire this license when they attempted to ship the rebreathers to Libya in 2016, despite being told by a Commerce special agent that a license was required.