On December 7, 2023, Chairman Michael McCaul of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the House of Representatives released a 90-Day Review Report (the “Report”) of the US Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”), the agency tasked with administering the Export Administration Regulations (15 C.F.R Parts 730–774, the “EAR”) under the US Commerce Department. Chairman McCaul previously highlighted his plans for greater oversight of BIS at an October 2022 Atlantic Council event during which he stated…
On November 6, 2023, the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry Security (“BIS”) and the Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) published a joint notice (“Joint Notice”) to announce a new Suspicious Activity Report (“SAR”) key term for financial institutions when reporting possible attempts by entities or individuals to evade US export controls. This builds on similar efforts by BIS and FinCEN to require SARs for transactions related to transactions that may…
Please check out Episode 9 of the Compliance Podcast of the Caracas office in which Jesus Davila talks to Washington DC partner, Alex Lamy, concerning the US sanctions system over the Venezuelan government and the latest decision regarding the suspension of the sanctions for the hydrocarbons and mining sectors. Alex explains the implications thereof and how this could bring new opportunities for the aforementioned sectors. A link to the podcast series is available here. Links…
El 18 de octubre de 2023, la Oficina de Control de Activos Extranjeros (“OFAC”) del Departamento del Tesoro de EE.UU. aplicó un levantamiento limitado de las sanciones bajo el Reglamento de Sanciones contra Venezuela (el “VSR”) al Gobierno de Venezuela (el “GOV”) y ciertos sectores de la economía venezolana en respuesta a la firma de un acuerdo de hoja de ruta electoral entre representantes del GOV y los partidos políticos de la oposición venezolana. La…