February 22, 2024
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.
UPCOMING EVENTS
On Thursday, February 29, Kharon experts will host a Quick Take webinar discussing the impact of global sanctions programs targeting Russia since the invasion of Ukraine two years ago. They will examine the trajectory of new measures - including a focus on the trade of oil, diamonds, and other restricted items. Additionally, they will discuss the evolving evasion networks used by Russia and ways to mitigate associated risk. [Register Today]
Join our panel of experts from Kharon and Akin for a discussion on the growing importance of export controls in national security policy and what this means for compliance programs and end-user screening procedures.
This discussion will explore strategies and tools compliance professionals can use for end-user screening to both stay ahead of the regulatory curve and support the maintenance of valued trade and commercial relationships. [Register Today]
THIS WEEK IN THE KHARON BRIEF
FinCEN Proposes Rule to Include Investment Advisers in Anti-Money Laundering Reporting
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued a proposed rule last week that would require certain investment advisers to report suspicious activities related to money laundering and terrorism financing.?[Read More]
Here’s How Kitchen Appliances Flagged for Forced Labor Risk Enter US Households
In 2022, the U.S. government added Hefei Meiling, a major Chinese manufacturer of refrigerators and other household appliances, to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) Entity List. Despite these restrictions, Meiling's appliances have continued to be imported to New York, Miami, and Puerto Rico, a Kharon investigation has found. [Read More]
KHARON SNAPSHOT
A U.S. insurance company settled with the U.S. Department of the Treasury for apparent violations of OFAC's 50 Percent Rule by insuring a company owned by a sanctioned Russian individual, underscoring the critical need for robust compliance mechanisms to adhere to sanctions regulations. [Watch the full video]
UPCOMING LIVE EVENT APPEARANCES
Retail Industry Leaders Association?
February 25 - 28 | Dallas, TX
?
NOAA's Charting the Course: CALM-CS Seafood Labor Summit
February 28 | Washington, DC?
SANCTIONS
The U.S. Department of the Treasury designated two individuals who are affiliates of the Russia-based ransomware group LockBit, the first action in an ongoing collaborative effort with the U.S. Department of Justice, the FBI, and international partners targeting the group. [U.S. Treasury]
领英推荐
The U.K. has sanctioned 6 individuals heading up the penal colony where Alexei Navalny died. [U.K. Government]
The U.K. announced more than 50 new sanctions targeting key sources of Russian revenue, clamping down on metals, diamonds, and energy trade, and cutting off funding for the war in Ukraine. [U.K. Government]
The EU imposed sanctions against six individuals and a pro-Moscow paramilitary group for undermining the rule of law, stability, and security in Moldova. [EU Council]
EU members approved a 13th package of Ukraine-related sanctions against Russia, banning nearly 200 entities and individuals accused of helping Moscow procure weapons or of involvement in kidnapping Ukrainian children. [Reuters]
The Biden administration will unveil a “major sanctions package” targeted at Moscow in response to the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. [Politico]
A U.S. threat to hit financial firms doing business with Russia with sanctions has chilled Turkish-Russian trade, disrupting or slowing some payments for both imported oil and Turkish exports. [Reuters]
Major lenders in the UAE have begun closing bank accounts belonging to Russian nationals and limiting settlements with Russia following threats of secondary sanctions from the U.S. [Moscow Times]?
A little-known trader from Azerbaijan assembled a clandestine network that has moved vast quantities of petroleum to China, India, and other new markets to become one of the biggest global traders of Russian oil. [WSJ]
A Russian liquefied natural gas project subject to U.S. sanctions is close to exporting its first cargo after Chinese expertise filled the technical and logistical void left by western companies. [FT]
A new investigation exposed one way that the flow of high-tech foreign goods into Russia continues — a scheme known as “false transit” that takes advantage of lighter or non-existent sanctions against two of Russia’s closest economic partners. [OCCRP]
Russian leader Vladimir Putin gifted a car to his North Korean counterpart Kim Jong Un in a violation of U.N. sanctions. The transaction is further evidence that Pyongyang and Moscow are operating shipping links to trade large sanctioned items. [NK News]
A North Korean ballistic missile that Russia used against Ukraine heavily incorporated foreign-sourced parts, including from the U.S., demonstrating North Korea's ability to source parts in defiance of sanctions. [NK News]
Iran has provided Russia with a large number of powerful surface-to-surface ballistic missiles, deepening the military cooperation between the two U.S.-sanctioned countries. [Reuters]
The U.S. will impose new sanctions on Iran “in the coming days” for Tehran’s support of Russia’s war on Ukraine, the White House announced. [Bloomberg]
U.S. sanctions failed to stop oil worth billions of dollars from leaving Iran over the past year. Lax government oversight allowed shadowy oil tankers, covered by American insurance, to fund Iran’s regime. [NYT]
Iran’s arms industry is growing rapidly, turning the country into a large-scale exporter of low-cost, high-tech weapons whose clients are vexing the U.S. and its partners in the Middle East, Ukraine, and beyond. [WSJ]
The U.N. Security Council sanctioned 6 people from armed groups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo amid escalation between government forces and M23 rebels. [DW]
COMPLIANCE + ENFORCEMENT
The U.S. Department of Justice announced the transfer of nearly USD 500,000 in forfeited Russian funds to Estonia to be used in support of Ukraine. [U.S. Justice]
France has impounded a luxurious villa suspected of belonging to a Russian energy giant as part of a money laundering investigation. [Barron’s]
National authorities in Latvia, Germany, France, Italy, and Malta carried out over 100 searches in a large-scale operation against a Russian-Eurasian criminal network and a Maltese-based financial institution allegedly involved in money laundering services. [Eurojust]
The U.S. Department of the Treasury issued guidance on providing humanitarian assistance and critical commodities to the Yemeni people while complying with U.S. sanctions. [U.S. Treasury]
A Chinese man in Australia is awaiting extradition to the U.S. for his alleged role in raising cash for the North Korean regime in a multimillion-dollar tobacco smuggling operation. [NK News]
EXPORT CONTROLS + SUPPLY CHAIN
The Biden administration is turning up the heat on China's top sanctioned chipmaker by cutting off its most advanced factory from more American imports after it produced a sophisticated chip for Huawei's Mate 60 Pro phone. [Reuters]
Fears that computer chip equipment produced by Europe's largest tech firm will be used for Chinese military ends underlie recent decisions to deny the company export licenses. [Reuters]
Under intensifying scrutiny from U.S. lawmakers, top firms have pulled back from investing in Chinese start-ups. [NYT]
CRYPTO + CYBER
Federal financial regulators are exploring claims that a mobile payment platform and entities providing transaction services to its users performed inadequate due diligence on customers, potentially opening the door to money laundering, terrorism financing, and other illegal activities. [NBC News]
A trove of leaked documents from a Chinese state-linked hacking group shows that Beijing’s intelligence and military groups are attempting large-scale, systematic cyber intrusions against foreign governments, companies, and infrastructure. [WaPo]