The Bureau of Industry and Security this week updated an export suspension order to revise the name and address of Nicolas Ayala, who was convicted in 2022 of conspiring to smuggle handguns and firearms from the U.S. to Ecuador (see 2309110017). BIS said the updated order corrects the spelling of Ayala’s name and lists an updated address.
The Bureau of Industry and Security this week fined a Pennsylvania electronics business and its Hong Kong affiliate $5.8 million after the company voluntarily disclosed and admitted to illegally shipping controlled technology to China, including to military research institutes on the Entity List. The company, TE Connectivity Corporation, had “knowledge or reason to know” that the shipments violated U.S. export controls, BIS said, adding that its employees in China hid the true end-users and bypassed the company’s denied-party screening process.
The Bureau of Industry and Security on Aug. 13 completed an interagency review for an interim final rule that could place new export controls on emerging and advanced technologies in coordination with “international partners.”
A new compliance note released by the Bureau of Industry and Security this week reveals the types of export violations that universities are most commonly disclosing to BIS, what led to those violations and the steps the academic institutions took to improve their compliance programs. The agency also issued a set of resources it said universities should use for compliance, including lists of risky parties maintained by both the government and outside organizations.
The Bureau of Industry and Security on Aug. 13 suspended the export privileges of four people, including one for illegal integrated circuit exports to China, another for illegal weapons brokering, and two others for illegally exporting weapons or ammunition.
Silvaco Group, a California-based company that provides software solutions for semiconductor design, received a cautionary letter from the Office of Foreign Assets Control after disclosing possible sanctions violations involving Russia.
Lorand Laskai, former senior adviser to the undersecretary of the Bureau of Industry and Security, has joined the National Security Council as the new China director, he announced Aug. 11 on LinkedIn. Laskai has been at BIS since July 2023. An NSC spokesperson didn’t respond to a request seeking more information about his new role.
Russian-German national Arthur Petrov was extradited to the U.S., making his initial appearance in court Aug. 9 for allegedly committing export control violations, smuggling, wire fraud and money laundering, DOJ announced. Extradited from Cyprus, Petrov was charged for his part in a scheme to ship more than $225,000 worth of U.S.-sourced microelectronics to companies supplying weapons to the Russian military.
A new set of export controls on U.S. persons activities and other transactions could require “dramatic expansions” to some companies’ internal compliance programs, Akin Gump said this month, including additional compliance training, end-user certifications and greater due diligence of suppliers and customers.
Mark Dallas, a Union College professor of political science, Asian studies and technology, has joined the Bureau of Industry and Security on temporary assignment as a senior adviser, he announced last week on LinkedIn. While on leave from his teaching job, Dallas said he will work on China export controls and provide “support” in the agency’s Office of Technology Evaluation on “cutting-edge technology R&D in US, China and Europe.” Dallas, who is also a China fellow with the Wilson Center, also will help with issues involving “emerging commercial technologies.”