Ending a five-year investigation, ZTE Corp. (“ZTE”), the second-largest producer of telecommunications equipment in China, entered into a plea agreement with the US Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and settlement agreements with the US Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry (“BIS”) and the US Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”), for violations of US sanctions against Iran and US export controls, making false statements to the US government, and obstruction of justice (complete plea/settlement agreements are available at the following links: DOJ, BIS and OFAC). If the criminal plea with the DOJ is approved by a federal judge, the combined $1.19 billion in penalties would be the largest fine and forfeiture ever levied by the US government in an export control case.
On December 23, 2016, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) issued a final rule amending the licensing provisions of section 560.530 of the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations, 31 C.F.R. Part 560 (“ITSR”) and making certain other amendments to the ITSR (the “Final Rule”). Section 560.530 sets forth the favorable Ag/Med licensing regime for the export/reexport of agricultural commodities, medicine, and medical devices to Iran (i.e., “Ag/Med” licenses).
On October 7, 2016, the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) updated its list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) Relating to the Lifting of Certain US Sanctions under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). These updates provide clarification on existing OFAC guidance originally issued in January 2016 and most recently updated in June 2016. For more information on the June 2016 updated guidance, please see our blog post here.
On Thursday, March 24, 2016, the US Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) is scheduled to publish a temporary general license in the Federal Register relating to Zhongxing Telecommunications Equipment Corporation (“ZTE Corporation”) and ZTE Kangxun Telecommunications Ltd. (“ZTE Kangxun”). As detailed in a previous post, BIS added these two companies and two affiliated entities (Beijing 8-Star and ZTE Parsian) to the Export Administration Regulations’ (“EAR”) Entity List on March 8, 2016.