The Biden administration is having “a lot” of conversations with China to try to convince the country to stop shipping certain dual-use goods to Russia, and some of those conversations appear to be working, said Jay Shambaugh, the Treasury Department’s undersecretary for international affairs. But Shambaugh also said the U.S. wants Beijing to do more, and the administration is analyzing whether its current trade and financial restrictions are strong enough.
Nikolay Goltsev of Montreal and Brooklyn, New York, resident Salimdzhon Nasriddinov pleaded guilty July 9 to conspiracy to commit export control violations. The two men shipped electronic components to sanctioned Russian companies, some of which were then found in "seized Russian weapons platforms and signals intelligence equipment in Ukraine," according to DOJ.
The Bureau of Industry and Security is recommending exporters, reexporters and other businesses add a new customer screening tool to their due diligence steps before trading in goods that could later be diverted to Russia’s military, especially for microelectronics and other sensitive goods Russia is looking to import. In new guidance published this week, BIS also clarified the specific compliance steps companies and universities should take if they receive a red-flag letter, an is-informed letter or other written warnings from the agency about certain risky customers or transactions.
Certain vessels targeted by the EU’s sanctions against Russia may use European ports and port services in special emergency scenarios, including to unload “dangerous or polluting goods,” the European Commission said in a recent frequently asked question. Those vessels can use EU ports “within a reasonable time” after being sanctioned, “and in any case not later than 30 days from the date of” their designation, the FAQ said.
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The U.K. on July 3 issued a general license authorizing certain transactions between sanctioned parties and the National Settlement Depository. The license allows certain designated parties -- except for those subject to Russia-related sanctions -- to "carry out any activity reasonably necessary to sell, divest or transfer" debt and equity securities and financial instruments held by the National Settlement Depository. The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation said any party conducting a transaction under the license must keep records on those transactions for a minimum of six years. The license runs through Aug. 13.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control deleted two Russia-related entries from its Specially Designation Nationals List. The agency removed Marina Igorevna Tsareva, who was sanctioned in 2018 for helping to procure underwater equipment and diving systems for Russian government agencies, and Alexey Valeryevich Panferov, who OFAC had sanctioned in 2022 as part of a tranche of designations targeting Russia's defense industrial base. An agency spokesperson didn't immediately respond to a request for comment about why OFAC removed both from the SDN List.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said July 8 that he hopes to have a "significant package of China-related legislation" signed into law this year, including measures to "punish" Chinese military firms that provide material support to Russia and Iran.
The EU on July 3 declined to extend the protections in the Energy Charter Treaty -- a trade and investment deal for the energy sector -- to investments and investors from Russia and Belarus in order to boost its sanctions enforcement efforts, the European Commission announced. While neither Russia nor Belarus is a party to the Energy Charter Treaty, investors from these countries could theoretically use corporations set up in a signatory country to allege that the EU or its member states have violated "investment protection obligations" of the ECT and bring investor-state dispute settlement proceedings, the commission said. The EU's move eliminates the basis for making any such claim.
Douglas Robertson, former vice president of KanRus Trading Co., pleaded guilty on July 2 to conspiring to violate U.S. export laws by shipping "sophisticated and controlled avionics equipment to customers in Russia," DOJ announced.