The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week deleted four entries from its Specially Designated Nationals List and updated six others. The entries are linked to either Russia or Myanmar. One entry, Russia-based Joint Stock Company Star, had been listed on the SDN List under two separate sanctions authorities, and the agency's move this week merged those two listings together, an OFAC spokesperson said Sept. 27. The agency didn't provide more information on why it deleted the other entries.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned two people and five entities based in Iran, China, Hong Kong, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates for their involvement in procuring sensitive parts for Iran unmanned aerial vehicle program. OFAC said the network has specifically facilitated shipments and financial transactions for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Aerospace Force Self Sufficiency Jihad Organization’s procurement of servomotors, a “critical component” used in Iran’s Shahed-series UAVs. The agency said Iran has been supplying the Shahed-136 UAVs to Russia for its war in Ukraine.
LONDON -- Gyorgy Molnar, head of the multilateral Wassenaar Arrangement secretariat, said he is “cautiously optimistic” the regime will be able to agree to more export control proposals this year as opposed to the prior year. Molnar didn’t specifically name Russia but said a “number” of proposals last year “were blocked by one participating state.”
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Members of a new export enforcement partnership recently formed by the Five Eyes countries released new guidance Sept. 26 for industry and academia on countering evasion of export controls and sanctions on Russia.
Senate Republicans last week reintroduced a bill that could require the U.S. to sanction all Russian state-owned companies. The bill, titled the Halting Enrichment of Russian Oligarchs and Industry Allies of Moscow’s Schemes to Leverage its Abject Villainy Abroad Act, would require the president to impose the sanctions 60 days after the legislation is enacted. “We have a moral duty, and it’s in our national security interest, to do everything in our power to limit any U.S. funds that enrich the pockets of the Russian regime,” said Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., who reintroduced the bill alongside Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Rick Scott, R-Fla.
The CEOs of two major European multinationals called for the simplification and increased coordination of sanctions at a forum held by the Atlantic Council last week. Michael Schoellhorn, CEO of Airbus Defense and Space, said the implementation of Russia sanctions, and the latest EU sanctions package in particular (see 2306230013), has “triggered such a bureaucracy,” with “a degree of minutia that is killing small companies.”
The Netherlands' Fiscal Information and Investigation Service (FIOD) arrested an employee of the Dutch defense department along with another individual for allegedly circumventing the nation's sanctions on Russia, FIOD announced Sept. 15, according to an unofficial translation. The agency said it conducted a search of the second man's home, business premises and storage space, finding large sums of cash, aircraft parts, weapons, cartridge holders and ammunition. The searches came as part of an investigation of an unnamed Dutch company that exports aircraft parts to Russia in violation of the Netherlands' sanctions regime.
The EU General Court on Sept. 20 rejected Russian businessman Alexey Mordashov's application to annul his sanctions listing, according to an unofficial translation. The court said the EU didn't err in finding that Mordashov is an influential businessman in sectors of the Russian government, rejecting his challenges to the process, reasoning and proportionality.
The co-chairs of the Congressional Caucus on Korea recently introduced a bill that would expand sanctions on any parties involved in trade or financing with North Korea that could lead to arms transfers to Russia.