A federal magistrate judge at the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled in an order unsealed May 13 that the U.S. had probable cause to believe that an unnamed American citizen violated U.S. sanctions by using cryptocurrency to help various parties evade restrictions. Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui ruled that virtual currency is traceable and that sanctions apply to virtual currency (In Re: Criminal Complaint, D.D.C. #22-00067).
The U.S. will loosen some Trump-era restrictions on Cuba-related remittances, the State Department announced this week. The administration plans to remove the current limit on family remittances of $1,000 per quarter per “sender-receiver pair,” and it also will authorize donative, or non-family, remittances to “support independent Cuban entrepreneurs.” The agency said it will work with electronic payment processors to “encourage increased Cuban market accessibility.”
The departments of State and the Treasury, along with the FBI, issued a May 16 advisory regarding possible attempts by North Korean IT workers to obtain employment while posing as non-North Korean nationals, according to a notice from the Office of Foreign Assets Control.
Companies need to stay on top of their compliance because significant escalation of Russia-related sanctions is possible, KPMG experts said. The "dramatic increase in the use of sanctions and other controls" over the past two months will likely continue to expand in complexity, said Jason Rhoades, KPMG senior manager-trade and customs services, during a May 11 webinar. Because Russian behavior toward Ukraine has not changed, "we expect [the use of sanctions] to continue to grow," Rhoades said. "There is significant room still out there for [sanctions] escalation."
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on May 11 updated three frequently asked questions related to Russia sanctions. The FAQs clarify what type of services to Russia are blocked under U.S. restrictions.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control has issued Syria General License 22, which authorizes the processing or transfer of funds on behalf of third-country entities to or from Syria in support of the transactions necessary for agriculture, information and telecommunications, power grid infrastructure, construction, finance, clean energy, transportation and warehousing, water and waste management, health services, education, manufacturing and trade in northeast and northwest Syria.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned five “financial facilitators” for the Islamic State group of Iraq and Syria. The people operate across Indonesia, Syria and Turkey and help “extremists” travel to Syria and other regions where ISIS operates, OFAC said. The facilitator network also helps the group conduct financial transfers. The agency designated Dwi Dahlia Susanti, Rudi Heryadi, Ari Kardian, Muhammad Dandi Adhiguna and Dini Ramadhani.
Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with the top stories from last week in case you missed them. You can find any article by searching the title or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
The Treasury Department has enough evidence to show that its Russia sanctions are being violated and needs to move faster to impose secondary sanctions, Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., said. He said he and Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., plan to push the agency to act.
The U.S., the EU and the other G-7 members on May 9 announced a series of new sanctions and restrictions on Russia, including a ban on providing certain business management services to the country and a commitment to phase out imports of Russian oil. New U.S. restrictions include broader export controls and sanctions targeting Russian banking executives, a weapons manufacturer and state-owned media.