February 13, 2025
The Readbook is Kharon's weekly roundup of our published pieces, upcoming events, and the best-curated news feed on the intersection of international security and global commerce. Subscribe to the email version.?
/EVENTS
Forced Labor in the Automotive Industry: A Tech Deep Dive
Tune in to learn how AIAG’s preferred partners for forced labor due diligence — Resilinc, Altana, and SUPPLIERASSURANCE — incorporate our data to help mitigate risk in the automotive industry. [Register Here]
Academic & Security Counter Exploitation 2025
Kharon will be sponsoring the ASCE seminar again this year. Visit our booth and tune in to our tech talks each day at 2:45 p.m. in the Oak Room to see how our solutions can help your organization mitigate research security challenges. [Learn More]
/THIS WEEK IN THE BRIEF
A Sprawling Iranian Network Is Facilitating Its Tech Exports, Sidestepping Sanctions
An Iranian government initiative is expanding globally despite sanctions, enabling the export of dual-use technologies to Russia, China, and beyond for civilian and military use. [Read More]
With Australian Court Rulings, ‘The Bar Has Lowered’ For Sanctions Violations
Australian courts’ rulings against a Russian aluminum giant set a far lower threshold for sanctions liability and enforcement than the U.S., EU, or U.K., requiring businesses to take additional measures to manage the heightened risks. [Read More]?
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/MEDIA ROUNDUP
SANCTIONS
The U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctioned an international network for facilitating the shipment of millions of barrels of Iranian crude oil worth hundreds of millions of dollars to China on behalf of Iran’s military. [U.S. Treasury]
U.S. lawmakers sent a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio encouraging the sanctioning of Chinese entities involved in transferring missile propellant ingredients to Iran. [U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee]
The EU is discussing a deal to partially suspend several sanctions on Syria’s energy industry, including scrapping bans on importing crude from the country and on exporting technologies to the oil and gas industry. [Bloomberg]
The U.K. Government will bring forward measures for Members of Parliament to debate in the coming months adapting the Syria sanctions regime, including the relaxation of restrictions that apply to the energy, transport, and finance sectors, and provisions to further support humanitarian delivery. [U.K. Government]
Canada designated two individuals associated with the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) who are linked to the continued violence against civilians in Sudan. [Canadian Government]
The U.S., Australia, and the U.K. jointly sanctioned the network of a Russia-based bulletproof hosting (BPH) services provider for its role in supporting LockBit ransomware attacks. [U.S. Treasury] [Australian Government] [U.K. Government]
The Swiss Federal Council decided to adopt further measures of the EU's 15th sanctions package against Russia, including a prohibition on recognizing and enforcing certain Russian court rulings in which Russian courts claim exclusive jurisdiction over disputes between Russian and Swiss companies. [Swiss Government]
Ukraine imposed sanctions on former president and opposition politician Petro Poroshenko, including asset freezes and a ban on withdrawing capital from the country, a presidential decree said. [Reuters]
Gazprom PJSC sold its Austrian and Italian gas trading units to a Dubai-based investment firm set up less than a year ago. [Bloomberg]
Russia threatened retaliation if the EU follows through on new proposals to detain more Moscow-linked oil tankers in the Baltic Sea, warning it would treat any seizures as an attack. [POLITICO]
The amount of Russian and Iranian oil held on ships has hit multi-month highs as harsher U.S. sanctions reduced the number of buyers, leaving fewer tankers available to deliver cargoes and driving up crude costs, trade sources and analysts said. [Reuters]
Russian officials have held meetings with Indian buyers recently in an effort to sell liquefied natural gas from a flagship export facility sanctioned by the U.S. [Bloomberg]
Oil refiners in India — eager to keep importing cheap crude from Russia — are working with merchants, shippers, and other middlemen to rebuild supply chains as tougher U.S. sanctions come into effect. [Bloomberg]
Chinese refiners are being offered Russian ESPO crude cargoes at lower prices as growing concern around U.S. sanctions increases logistical and administrative hurdles, putting off buyers. [Bloomberg]
Thousands of North Korean laborers have been sent to work in Russia last year, South Korea's spy agency said, in apparent violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions against Pyongyang. [YNA]
A Singapore-listed oil production company said it is seeking legal advice to determine whether its subsidiaries violated foreign laws in supplying oil to military-controlled Myanmar. [Bloomberg]
The Trump administration plans to designate more than a half-dozen criminal groups with roots in Latin America as foreign terrorist organizations, said five U.S. officials with knowledge of the imminent action. [NYT]
A financial services corporation has indefinitely suspended money transfers to Cuba, citing new U.S. sanctions that are likely to further undermine the struggling Caribbean nation’s economy. [Bloomberg]
Panama has made progress stripping vessels from its registry that do not meet its flag's standards, the Central American nation's Maritime Authority said, responding to U.S. criticism that it allowed sanctioned countries to move ships with the Panamanian flag. [Reuters]
U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order imposing sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC) for opening preliminary investigations concerning U.S. personnel and for issuing arrest warrants targeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Former Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant. [U.S. White House]
The White House confirmed that ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan is the first person to be hit with economic and travel sanctions authorized by President Trump that target the war crimes tribunal over investigations of U.S. citizens or U.S. allies. [Reuters]
The ICC condemned the issuance by the U.S. of the executive order seeking to impose sanctions on its officials, saying that it harmed its independence and impartial judicial work. [ICC]
An Australian Senate committee published a report on the country’s sanctions regime, including recommendations to increase effectiveness and focus on enforcement. [Australian Parliament]
COMPLIANCE + ENFORCEMENT
A U.S. credit card giant identified and closed 30 consumer accounts in 2024 that it said could have had ties to the Government of Iran, and also ended its relationship with a third-party ATM network provider that was connected to an Iranian bank sanctioned by the U.S. government. [Reuters]
An Italian bank won a bid in a London court to overturn an injunction it obtained against a subsidiary of Russian energy giant Gazprom in the face of a potential EUR 250 million fine in Russia. [Reuters]
Two of the world's largest aircraft lessors fully settled lawsuits in Irish courts against insurers over jets stranded in Russia following Western sanctions in 2022. [Reuters]
The U.S. Department of Justice will shift its resources away from fighting traditional corporate corruption and Russian oligarchs toward the battle against drug cartels. [WSJ]
A high-ranking affiliate of the Sinaloa Cartel was indicted for allegedly manufacturing and distributing fentanyl, cocaine, heroin, and other drugs and importing them into the U.S. [U.S. Justice]
FinCEN announced a USD 37,000,000 penalty against a U.S. armored car company for transmitting hundreds of millions of dollars in bulk currency shipments across the U.S.-Mexico border on behalf of high-risk entities, including a Mexican currency exchanger that pleaded guilty to violating the Bank Secrecy Act. [U.S. FinCEN]
The U.S. Department of Justice announced that Dominican Republic authorities seized an aircraft used by Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PdVSA), the sanctioned Venezuelan state-owned oil and natural gas company, at the request of the U.S. government based on violations of U.S. export control and sanctions laws. [U.S. Justice]
A woman pleaded guilty in connection with a scheme that assisted overseas IT workers — posing as U.S. citizens and residents — in working at more than 300 U.S. companies in remote IT positions, which generated more than USD 17 million in illicit revenue for herself and for North Korea. [U.S. Justice]
Canada’s FINTRAC imposed an administrative monetary penalty on a money services business in Ontario for failing to provide requested documents and information for a compliance examination. [FINTRAC]
TRADE CONTROLS + SUPPLY CHAIN
The latest U.S. export controls on China's chip sector are causing more disruption than the industry expected, as the world's top contract chipmaker takes an extremely cautious approach to ensure compliance. [Nikkei Asia]
China is helping Russia's military drone production by becoming a hub for the smuggling of critical Western components for Moscow's armed forces, the Estonian Foreign Intelligence Service said in its annual national security report. [Reuters]
Finland is moving ahead with its plan to stop property purchases by some foreign nationals after security concerns surfaced over such deals with links to neighboring Russia. [Bloomberg]
HUMAN RIGHTS
Legal challenges are roiling the think tanks and universities that research human rights abuses and security violations by Chinese companies, as the companies are firing back with defamation accusations. [NYT]
The NBA said it "took very seriously its code of conduct" for companies marketing its licensed products and was speaking to a French firm over accusations it has benefited from forced labor in China. [AFP]