The US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”), the US Department of State’s Directorate of Defense Trade Control (“DDTC”), and the US Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) have announced increases in the maximum civil monetary penalties (“CMPs”) under the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015 (“2015 Act”). This statute requires the agencies to make such adjustments annually by January 15 of each year. These newly adjusted CMPs may be imposed for violations of OFAC sanctions regulations, the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, and the Export Administration Regulations (“EAR”). Although these are the first annual adjustments made under the 2015 Act, they follow initial “catch-up” adjustments that went into effect on August 1, 2016 and were previously described here.
On February 2, 2017, the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) amended the List of Medical Devices Requiring Specific Authorization (“List”), to update and clarify the scope of medical devices not authorized for export/reexport to Iran pursuant to the general license (“Ag/Med GL”) at section 560.530(a)(3)(i) of the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations, 31 C.F.R. Part 560 (“ITSR”).
On February 2, 2017, the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) issued a general license (“General License 1”) permitting certain limited transactions with the Russian Federal Security Service (“FSB”), Russia’s principal security agency. FSB was designated by OFAC as a Specially Designated National (“SDN”) on December 29, 2016 and subsequently also added to the US Commerce Department’s Entity List on January 4, 2017. FSB remains designated, but OFAC’s General License 1 is a welcome step towards alleviating concerns of US technology companies over the need to deal with FSB in its regulatory role in approving the import, distribution, and use of encryption products in Russia, as well as its broader law enforcement role. Meanwhile, the US Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) has yet to take parallel action to authorize exports, reexports, and transfers to FSB of goods, software, and technology subject to US jurisdiction under the Export Administration Regulations (“EAR”).
The Service on the Surveillance for Consumer Rights Protection and Human Well-Being of the Russian Federation has published today a draft law (the “Bill“) on the introduction of amendments into the Russian Code on Administrative Violations.