Property management companies, real estate agents and other firms in the property services industry are underreporting suspected sanctions violations to the U.K. government, a U.K. sanctions agency said last week. The country’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation said it suspects those firms are illegally helping sanctioned Russians buy or sell property, adding that Russians are likely being aided by small-scale property service firms or “sole practitioners with high-risk appetites” and long-standing relationships with sanctioned people.
A British court last week sentenced two Russians, including one former senior trade official, to prison for violating U.K. sanctions against Russia. The case marks the first conviction in the U.K. for a breach of sanctions under its Russia Sanctions Regulations, the Crown Prosecution Service said.
John Hurley, President Donald Trump’s nominee to be undersecretary of the treasury for terrorism and financial crimes (see 2502120058), said April 10 that he wants to "understand better how we can tighten the focus” on Chinese companies that steal U.S. innovations.
President Donald Trump this week ordered his administration to reduce regulatory restrictions around sales of weapons and other military items to U.S. partners, saying he wants to speed up foreign military sales and make the process more “transparent.”
House Select Committee on China ranking member Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., and 10 other committee Democrats urged the Commerce Department April 9 to reconsider its plans to pull back from traditional export control dialogues with allies, including the U.S.-EU Trade and Technology Council (TTC).
Landon Heid, President Donald Trump’s nominee to be assistant secretary of commerce for export administration (see 2502120020), said April 10 that he wants the Bureau of Industry and Security to wage a “continuous battle every single day” to prevent China from obtaining restricted U.S. technology.
Exporters and other companies could start seeing an uptick in government subpoenas as the Bureau of Industry and Security looks to increase export penalties, industry officials said this week, adding that businesses should make sure they’re scrutinizing transactions and watching for red flags.
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A key European Parliament committee this week voted 31-7, with three abstentions, to expand the bloc’s foreign direct investment screening rules, a move that could add more sectors to the scope of FDI restrictions and allow the European Commission to intervene in member state disagreements.
The U.S. executive branch has “really good authorities” to restrict exports of advanced computing chips but should improve how it wields them to prevent China from exploiting loopholes, a technology policy researcher told a congressional panel April 8.