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Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) Export Enforcement published an updated version of Don’t Let This Happen to You!, a compendium of case examples highlighting BIS criminal and administrative enforcement efforts. The publication was last updated in July 2024.
The Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has issued a final rule amending the Burma Sanctions Regulations to more fully implement the directives of Executive …
The proposed rule aims to prevent foreign adversaries from gaining access to sensitive personal data through various commercial transactions, such as data sales, employment agreements, or investments. It focuses on restricting data transactions that could be leveraged for intelligence gathering, blackmail, or geopolitical influence. The rule also outlines exceptions, such as transactions conducted as part of official U.S. government activities or those related to public health initiatives.
The proposed rule provides categorical, forward-looking regulations to prevent unauthorized access by countries of concern. It complements existing measures by focusing on data transactions that are currently unregulated, such as the sale of sensitive data by brokers or the sharing of data through vendor agreements.
To enforce the new regulations, the proposed rule includes mechanisms for issuing licenses for otherwise prohibited transactions under strict conditions. It also sets up a compliance regime to ensure adherence to the rules, with provisions for recordkeeping and reporting to support DOJ investigations.
A change of regime in Washington may change the degree of sanctions pressure on Russian Arctic gas projects, though the ultimate decider remains the economics. With the White House encouraging production and exports of domestic LNG, the incentives to make it easier for the Moscoew regime to sell their gas may not be that pronounced.
Russia's Arctic LNG 2 project, spearheaded by Novatek, seeks to export nearly 20 million tons of liquefied natural gas annually to Europe and Asia. Strategically located on the Gydan Peninsula, it aims to leverage the Northern Sea Route to cut transit times. However, Western sanctions, particularly under the Biden administration, have constrained Russia’s ability to capitalize on its Arctic resources by limiting access to technology and financing.
Telefónica Venezolana C.A. a Venezuela-based subsidiary of Telefónica S.A. a publicly traded global telecommunications operator based in Spain, will pay over $85.2 million to resolve an investigation by the Justice Department into a scheme to bribe government officials in Venezuela to receive preferential access to U.S. dollars in a currency auction.
Telefónica Venezolana entered into a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) in connection with a criminal information filed today in the Southern District of New York charging the company with conspiracy to violate the anti-bribery provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).
A Turkish National was arrested for his involvement in a complex scheme to violate and evade U.S. sanctions related to petroleum products from Venezuela and Iran.. The scheme included obfuscating the identities of tankers moving the oil by re-naming and re-flagging vessels, covering vessel names with paint or blankets, and turning off the electronics that track vessels’ locations for the safety of ships and their crews
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