Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with the top stories from last week in case you missed them. You can find any article by searching for the title or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
An influx of delisting requests spurred by the rapid pace of sanctions against Russia could strain already limited resources at the Treasury Department, former officials and lawyers said, increasing fears that removal efforts will be overlooked even as law firms see an uptick in business.
The U.K. issued a General License under its Russia and Belarus sanctions regimes permitting sanctioned individuals and entities to pay legal fees to law firms and counsel. The license took effect on April 29 and permits these payments in relation to any matter, except defamation or malicious falsehood proceedings, until Oct. 28. The license distinguishes between legal services issued pre-listing and post-listing.
The Spanish government found no evidence in an initial inquiry to justify claims that the country imported Russian diesel in violation of sanctions, said Teresa Ribera, Spain's energy minister, Bloomberg reported April 28. The nation's largest oil refiner, Repsol, complained that several tankers recently imported fuel via North Africa and Turkey in violation of restrictions on Russia. While the inquiry's initial findings did not find any trace of sanctions violations, the government will continue looking into the matter, Ribera said.
The EU and Taiwan wrapped up their second Trade and Investment Dialogue April 28, at which they discussed "horizontal strategic trade issues and bilateral concerns," the EU's Directorate-General for Trade said. The parties discussed work that has taken place since the last dialogue on export controls, direct investment screening, semiconductors and research and innovation, and agreed to "pursue their engagement in all these areas." Both sides also agreed to continue cooperating to align their Russian sanctions regimes and prevent circumvention of the restrictions. The EU and Taiwan "agreed to engage in expert discussions on digital trade facilitation measures such as e-invoicing and e-signature, with a view to lowering transaction costs and increasing economic efficiency" for businesses on both sides.
Canada recently proposed “significant changes” to its sanctions laws -- featuring a new 50% rule similar to the U.S. Treasury Department's -- that could change how companies conduct sanctions due diligence, including on Russia, law firms said this month. The firms said companies may need to review and update their due diligence processes to better identify beneficial owners but warned the proposed laws could make that process exponentially more challenging.
The departments of Treasury and State this week sanctioned Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Intelligence Organization, along with four of its senior officials, for their role in taking hostages and wrongfully detaining U.S. nationals. The sanctions are the first issued under the authority established last year by Executive Order 14078, which allows for sanctions against hostage-takers (see 2207190045).
Senior export control and sanctions officials with the U.S., the EU and the U.K. traveled to Kazakhstan this week to discuss countering Russia’s attempts at sanctions evasion, the Treasury Department said. The group -- which included Elizabeth Rosenberg, Treasury’s assistant secretary for terrorist financing and financial crimes, and Matt Axelrod, the Bureau of Industry and Security's assistant secretary for export enforcement -- met with government officials in the country, along with businesses, to share information and “offer assistance to help facilitate compliance,” Treasury said.
Nearly all fof the oil exported from Kozmino port in the Russian Pacific sold for above the $60 price cap during the first three months of 2023, indicating violations of the G-7 oil price cap on Russian crude, the Kyiv School of Economics Institute in Ukraine said in a study of trade and shipping data. The study also found the "continued and substantial involvement of G7/EU shipping service providers."
New York lawyer Robert Wise pleaded guilty to participating in a scheme to make around $3.8 million in payments to maintain six real properties in the U.S. owned by sanctioned Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg. Wise pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to commit international money laundering and faces a maximum of five years in prison, DOJ said April 25. He also forfeited more than $3.7 million and agreed "to be satisfied" by a $210,441 payment.