Hungarian national Bence Horvath was charged with violating U.S. export controls on Russia by conspiring to ship radio communications technology to Russian government end users without a license, DOJ announced Aug. 26. Horvath is charged with one count of conspiring to violate the Export Control Reform Act of 2018.
The U.K. on Aug. 27 removed one person from its ISIL (Da'esh) and al-Qaida sanctions regime, the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation announced. Moroccan national Yassine Chekkouri was delisted from the sanctions regime. The U.N. Security Council deleted Chekkouri's designation days earlier after receiving a delisting request (see 2408260002).
Javier Aguilar of Houston, former trader at energy trading firm Vitol, pleaded guilty Aug. 21 to conspiring to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and taking part in interstate and foreign commerce to distribute bribery proceeds, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York announced. Aguilar paid bribes to officials at the procurement wing of PEMEX, a Mexican state-owned oil company.
Latvia citizen Oleg Chistyakov appeared in a U.S. court Aug. 21 after being extradited from Latvia to face charges that he violated U.S. export controls by shipping "sophisticated avionics equipment" to Russian companies, DOJ announced.
Comoros officially joined the World Trade Organization on Aug. 21, becoming the 165th member of the trade body after 17 years of accession talks, the WTO announced. Twenty-two other nations are negotiating their WTO access, including eight other African countries. Comoros also accepted the fisheries subsidies agreement, bringing the total number of countries that have accepted the deal to 82.
Venezuela citizen George Semerene Quintero pleaded guilty Aug. 20 to conspiring to evade U.S. sanctions on Petroleos de Venezuela (PdVSA), the Venezuelan state-owned oil company where he worked, DOJ announced.
The European Commission is cutting planned countervailing duties on Tesla vehicles imported from China by more than 10% and slightly lowering CVD on other EVs made by Chinese companies, it announced in draft definitive findings released Aug. 20.
Nonprofit advocacy group Texans for Israel and four of its members filed suit earlier this month to contest the constitutionality of President Joe Biden's executive order allowing for sanctions against those who undermine "peace, security, and stability in the West Bank" (Texans for Israel v. U.S. Department of the Treasury, N.D. Tex. # 2:24-00167).
The European Council on Aug. 14 removed two people from its Yemen sanctions regime. Ali Abdullah Saleh, former president of Yemen who has died, and his son, Ahmed Ali Abdullah Saleh, former commander of Yemen's Republic Guard, were delisted. The U.N. and the U.K. also recently delisted them (see 2408020018).
The U.K. added 20 frequently asked questions on Aug. 15 pertaining to its Russia sanctions regime, the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation announced. The questions cover a range of topics including securities restrictions, payment systems and financial services. The FAQs also cover the process for reviews and appeals for civil penalties and reporting requirements, which OFSI said requires individuals to report personal financial circumstances changes to OFSI "as soon as practicable." This requirement comes into play when the value of a party's economic resources changes by over 10,000 British pounds.