The U.K. this week sanctioned one person and four entities for supporting the government of Iran and "fuelling its attempts to undermine stability in the Middle East and global security." The designations target Hossein Shamkhani and subject him to director disqualification restrictions, which ban him from operating as a director of any U.K. company. The U.K. also sanctioned Admiral Shipping Group, Milavous Group, Ocean Leonid Investments and Petrochemical Commercial Co.
The U.K. this week sanctioned several entities and people tied to a Kyrgyzstan-based financial network helping Russia evade sanctions, including through the use of cryptocurrency.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week removed sanctions from a Cypriot company -- along with one of its senior officials -- that it designated in 2021 for its ties to the Alexander Lukashenko regime in Belarus.
The State and Treasury departments should create a sanctions program to address illegal gold mining and other environmental crimes in the Western Hemisphere, said the Financial Accountability and Corporate Transparency (FACT) Coalition in a new report Aug. 20.
The EU will buy at least $40 billion worth of advanced American AI chips, will strengthen cooperation on export controls and investment screening, and will eliminate tariffs on U.S. industrial and other goods, the two sides said as part of a trade framework announced this week. The EU also committed to "substantially” increase purchases of U.S. defense equipment and said it will work to limit adverse effects of new supply chain due diligence rules and carbon border taxes on U.S. exporters.
Switzerland is asking exporters to strengthen their compliance procedures to protect against sanctions evaders that are increasingly looking to buy Swiss-origin machine tools, the country said in new guidance published this week.
Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., said Aug. 19 he is optimistic the Trump administration’s new trade deal with the EU will help peanut farmers in his state increase their exports to Europe.
The Treasury Department is seeking public comments to help it identify “innovative or novel” methods that banks and other financial institutions are using to detect illegal financial activity involving digital assets. The comment notice is required by the Genius Act, which became law in July and is partly meant to prevent criminals, terror groups and others from using stablecoins to launder money, evade sanctions or finance terrorism. Comments are due Oct. 17.
The U.S. this week sanctioned two International Criminal Court judges and two prosecutors that the State Department said have been involved in efforts to investigate, arrest or prosecute people from foreign countries without those countries' consent.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick spoke with Bureau of Industry and Security employees during a town hall meeting Aug. 19, where he discussed their "vital work supporting Trump’s America First Trade Policy, which boosts U.S. industry, secures supply chains, and protects American tech from foreign exploitation," the agency said in a social media post. "BIS enforces export controls, closes loopholes, and keeps innovation domestic, driving thriving industries and national security."