June 20, 2024

The Readbook is Kharon's weekly roundup of our published pieces, upcoming events, and the best-curated news feed on the intersection of international security and global commerce. Subscribe to the email version.

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/THIS WEEK IN THE KHARON BRIEF

Chinese Firm Supplied CNC Tools to Russia Amid Western Restrictions 

A Chinese firm that is traded on the Shanghai Stock Exchange has been supplying computer numerical control (CNC) tool parts to a Russia-based entity that has customers sanctioned by G7 countries. [Read More]

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/MEDIA ROUND UP

SANCTIONS        

The U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctioned eight individuals affiliated with a Mexican drug cartel for trafficking fentanyl, cocaine, and methamphetamine into the U.S. Concurrently, FinCEN issued a supplemental advisory to highlight critical new information to help U.S. banks and other financial institutions guard against activity associated with the illicit fentanyl supply chain. [U.S. Treasury] [U.S. FinCEN]

The U.S. Department of the Treasury targeted key actors who have enabled the Houthis to generate revenue and acquire a range of materials to manufacture the advanced weaponry they are now using to conduct ongoing terrorist attacks against commercial ships. [U.S. Treasury]

In close coordination with the Government of Türkiye, the U.S. Department of the Treasury imposed sanctions on four individuals with links to ISIS, including members of a human smuggling network. [U.S. Treasury]

The U.S. Department of State listed Harakat Ansar Allah al-Awfiya (HAAA), an Iraq-based, Iran-aligned militia group, and the HAAA Secretary General, Haydar Muzhir Ma’lak al-Sa’idi, as Specially Designated Global Terrorists. [U.S. State]

The Nordic Resistance Movement, the largest neo-Nazi group in Sweden, was designated by the U.S. Department of State as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist. [U.S. State]

A billionaire under sanctions is set to receive hundreds of millions of dollars as part of a controversial U.S. plan to lift restrictions if he sells his remaining mining interests in the Democratic Republic of Congo. [FT]

The U.S. Department of State designated an Israeli group for disrupting and destroying humanitarian aid to civilians. [U.S. State] 

The U.S. Department of the Treasury designated a network of two individuals and seven entities that provide major sources of revenue for the Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik and his family. [U.S. Treasury]

The EU has agreed to a new raft of economic sanctions against Russian individuals and companies. Notably, they include measures aimed at squeezing Russia’s profits from the sale of liquefied natural gas to EU members. [NYT]

Canada imposed sanctions on 13 individuals in relation to the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny and Russia’s continued violations of human rights. [Canadian Government]

A U.S. company stopped selling its sportswear to Russia soon after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine over two years ago, but that hasn’t stopped an online sports retailer owned by a Russian soccer club from obtaining the goods. [Reuters] 

Europe’s gas imports from Russia overtook supplies from the U.S. for the first time in almost two years in May, despite the region’s efforts to wean itself off Russian fossil fuels since the full scale invasion of Ukraine. [FT]

The world’s largest shipping register withdrew its approval for a sanctioned Russian insurer to provide a key document enabling ships to enter ports. [Bloomberg]

G7 leaders have issued their starkest warning yet to China over its support for Russia, attacking Beijing for “enabling” Russia’s war in Ukraine and threatening more sanctions if Beijing keeps transferring material used by Moscow’s defense industry. [FT]

Russia-China trade options have narrowed since the U.S. imposed sanctions last week on the only Russian bank branch in China, but President Vladimir Putin's Chinese visit last month has helped ensure the two countries have payment alternatives for now. [Reuters]

Singapore has refused to renew the visa of the U.S.-born chief executive of a heavy-duty shipping company after the company was designated by the U.S. Treasury for breaching sanctions on Russia. [FT]

Russian leader Vladimir Putin brought a limousine to Pyongyang as a gift for North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, in an open violation of U.N. sanctions prohibiting such a transfer. [NK News]

In recent years, a booming trade in human hair has helped to sustain North Korea’s isolated economy, softening the impact of international sanctions and providing Pyongyang with vital revenue to pursue its nuclear ambitions. [Guardian]

COMPLIANCE + ENFORCEMENT        

The U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security imposed a three-year denial order against a Portland-based logistics company due to its continued violations of the Export Administration Regulations and failure to address its past compliance issues. [U.S. BIS]

Switzerland’s financial regulator has banned a Swiss subsidiary of a major bank from taking on prominent public figures as clients after finding the lender violated anti-money laundering regulations. [FT]

Judicial and law enforcement authorities across Europe and in the U.S. have dismantled critical online infrastructure in a large-scale operation to disrupt platforms and websites for terrorist communications and propaganda. [Eurojust]

Sanctioned Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov sued a German unit of a Zürich-based multinational investment bank over anti-money laundering reports that he claims triggered an illegal criminal investigation against him. [Bloomberg]

A Minnesota man was sentenced to 120 months in prison followed by 15 years of supervised release for providing material support to ISIS, a designated foreign terrorist organization. [U.S. Justice]

The U.S. Justice Department announced a 10-count superseding indictment charging Los Angeles-based associates of a Mexican drug cartel with conspiring with money laundering groups linked to Chinese underground banking to launder drug trafficking proceeds. [U.S. Justice]

TRADE CONTROLS + SUPPLY CHAIN        

The U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security announced a Final Determination prohibiting the U.S. subsidiary of a Russia-based anti-virus software and cybersecurity company from directly or indirectly providing products or services in the U.S. or to U.S. persons. Concurrently, BIS added three companies in Russia and the U.K. to the Entity List for their cooperation with Russian military and intelligence authorities. [U.S. BIS]

U.S. lawmakers want to prevent companies that win federal chipmaking funds from using Chinese-made equipment at government-backed factories, part of efforts to limit Beijing’s influence on domestic chip production. [Bloomberg]

Last year, the U.S. Army and Navy reduced the number of Chinese suppliers in their “critical technologies” supply chains, but a new report shows that the Air Force and other defense agencies have increased their dependence on China. [Defense One]

The U.S. House Select Committee on the CCP launched a bipartisan working group focused on countering China's dominance of critical mineral supply chains. [Select Committee on the CCP]

The U.S. House Select Committee on the CCP announced the formation of a bipartisan working group focused on combating China's role in the fentanyl epidemic. [Select Committee on the CCP]

A booming online marketplace in shipping small but potent packages of the chemicals used in the production of fentanyl from China to Mexico remains largely unhindered. [WaPo]

HUMAN RIGHTS        

China dismissed EU calls for it to stop alleged human rights violations and said it opposed "double standards" and interference in its internal affairs. [Reuters] 

CRYPTO        

Venezuelan activists and policy analysts are calling for tougher sanctions and investigations into how President Nicolás Maduro’s government is using cryptocurrencies to get around international restrictions. [Bloomberg]