A new U.S. executive order significantly raises Russia-related compliance risks for foreign banks that may have thought they weren’t subject to U.S. sanctions authorities, law firms said this month. The order also could lead to new risks for U.S. businesses, the firms said, which may need to conduct more due diligence on any foreign financial institutions with ties to their supply chains.
Businesses and industry lawyers should expect to see an increase in Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement this year, especially as DOJ more frequently uses data analytics to find possible violations, said Dan Kahn, the former chief of DOJ’s FCPA unit.
The U.S. fined German software company SAP SE more than $200 million for violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, saying it bribed government officials in South Africa, Malawi, Kenya, Tanzania, Ghana, Indonesia and Azerbaijan to secure business contracts. The company agreed to a nearly $100 million settlement with the SEC and faces a $118.8 million criminal penalty, along with a forfeiture, as part of a deferred prosecution agreement with DOJ.
Members of the U.K. Parliament this week questioned whether the government should be imposing more restrictions on China, including through human rights sanctions on Hong Kong officials and export restrictions on a broader range of Chinese technology companies. They also urged the U.K. to share the results of a possible review of its arms export policies toward Israel, which at least one member said hasn’t been transparent.
A Texas shipper accused major Chinese ocean carrier Cosco Shipping Lines of violating U.S. shipping regulations through unfair detention and demurrage charges, costing it nearly $2 million in damages. Visual Comfort & Co, a shipper of lighting products, said Cosco “refused” to extend free days for containers that couldn’t be returned to the port and declined to divert shipments to less crowded ports, allowing the carrier to charge “astronomical” D&D fees.
The U.S. shouldn’t rush to impose new export controls on sensitive lidar technology, experts said, mostly because American firms may not have chokepoints over lidar and the restrictions may hurt U.S. export revenue.
The Commerce Department is accepting nominations for a relaunched industry advisory committee that will provide input on U.S. export control regulations.
The U.S. should push for export controlled semiconductors to be installed with a mechanism that would automatically bar those chips from being used in ways that violate U.S. export restrictions, researchers said in a new report this week. They said this would significantly aid export enforcement efforts and could potentially allow compliant chip companies to sell to a broader range of customers.
The Federal Maritime Commission is granting ocean carriers special permission to immediately hike rates on containers that are being rerouted around the southern cape of Africa, in response to concerns over possible Houthi rebel attacks on usual routes through the Red Sea.
The State Department’s recently published fall 2023 regulatory agenda mentions rules that will update defense export controls and make other changes and clarifications to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations.