On April 27, 2023, the US Department of State (“State”) designated Russia’s Federal Security Service (“FSB”) and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Intelligence Organization (“IRGC-IO”) pursuant to Executive Order (“EO”) 14078 (Bolstering Efforts To Bring Hostages and Wrongfully Detained United States Nationals Home), with the result that the IRGC-IO has been added to the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List (“SDN List”). The IRGC as a whole and FSB were previously designated on the…
The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”), the US Department of State (“State”), the US Department of Commerce (“Commerce”), and the US Department of Energy (“DOE”) issued rules adjusting maximum civil monetary penalties (“CMPs”) under the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015, as outlined below. (For additional years of CMPs, see our previous blog post available here.) OFAC CMP Adjustments Under OFAC’s final rule issued on January 13,…
On October 14, 2022, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”), the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”), and the Department of State, issued the Russia-related Alert: Impact of Sanctions and Export Controls on Russia’s Military-Industrial Complex (“the Alert”). OFAC also published one new Russia-related frequently asked question (“FAQ”). The Alert outlines impacts of the coordinated sanctions and export controls that have led to shortages of supplies…
Following initial announcements last year, on July 20, 2022, the US Department of State’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (“DDTC”) published two Open General Licenses (“OGLs”) permitting certain reexports and retransfers to certain parties under the International Trade in Arms Regulations (“ITAR”). The OGLs, which are part of a DDTC pilot program, will be valid for one year, effective from August 1, 2022 through July 31, 2023. The related DDTC fact sheet can be found…