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.
Tuqiang Xie, of Irvine, California, was sentenced to a year in prison for brokering the sales of export-controlled defense articles from China and filing a false corporate tax return, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois said March 31. In 2019, Xie pleaded guilty to one count of violating the Arms Export Control Act and one count of filing a false tax return. Sentencing took place after hearing in Chicago. In the plea agreement, Xie admitted to using his Irvine-based company, Bio-Medical Optics, as a broker for the shipment of defense articles listed on the U.S. Munitions List and the U.S. Munitions Import List. Xie had not obtained the required export license for these items.
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.
Joe Sery, former owner and CEO of San Diego-based Tungsten Heavy Powder & Parts, and his brother, Dror Sery, were arrested and charged with violating federal export laws by shipping defense products listed on the U.S. Munitions List without obtaining a proper export license, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of California said March 4. The Sery brothers' alleged actions violated export laws under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations. The brothers are charged with conspiracy to commit offenses against the U.S., exportation of defense articles without a license and criminal forfeiture. The latter charge has a maximum 20-year prison sentence and $1 million fine.
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.
Aydan Sin of British Columbia was convicted of violating the Arms Export Control Act for exporting defense articles on the U.S. Munitions List to the United Arab Emirates and Colombia, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of New York said. Sin, who allegedly conspired with Guy Deland and Charan Singh, will serve 46 months in prison. Singh began communicating with an undercover law enforcement agent in 2016 to ask about whether the undercover agent could export firearms from the U.S. to Dubai. The agent advised Sin, Deland and Singh that a license was required from the State Department, establishing that the trio knew about the regulations, the U.S. Attorney's Office said. Acknowledging the illegality of the shipments, Sin, Deland and Singh then gave the agent an encrypted BlackBerry device to establish secure communications and wired the agent around $70,000 from Canada to the U.S. as a down payment for the guns. The agent sent Sin and Deland two invoices -- one for a shipment to Dubai and one for a shipment to Colombia. Money for the shipments was wired to a bank account in New York. Charges remain pending against Deland and Singh, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.
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Christopher Stagg joined Miller & Chevalier as counsel in its International Department, the firm announced. Stagg formerly served as a senior policy adviser with the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls at the State Department, where he worked as the deputy lead in rewriting the International Traffic in Arms Regulations and Export Administration Regulations, the firm said. This work also entailed revising the U.S. Munitions List and Commerce Control List. At his own firm, Stagg cultivated experience on export controls, economic sanctions and Committee on Foreign Investments in the U.S. matters, the firm said.
Three former U.S. intelligence community or military members -- Marc Baier, Ryan Adams and Daniel Gericke -- entered into a deferred prosecution agreement, agreeing to pay more than $1.68 million to resolve export control violation charges, the Department of Justice said. The trio worked as senior managers at a United Arab Emirates-based company that carried out computer hacking operations to benefit the UAE government during 2016 to 2019, DOJ said. All three were told repeatedly that their work constituted a “defense service” under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, requiring a license from the State Department's Directorate of Defense Trade Controls. Nevertheless, all three continued their hacking without a license, court documents laid out.
Maryland residents Wilson Nuyila Tita of Owings Mills, Eric Fru Nji of Fort Washington and Wilson Che Fonguh of Bowie were charged Aug. 27 in a federal indictment at the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland with conspiracty to violate the Arms Export Control Act and the Export Reform Control Act, the Department of Justice said. The three allegedly shipped firearms and ammunition from the U.S. to Nigeria, violating export restrictions.