May 9, 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.

WEBINARS

On May 21, we will be hosting a webinar with Exiger on supply chain resilience in the defense industrial base. Our panel of experts will discuss the intricacies of the defense supply chain and associated legal requirements and share best practices for mitigating risks. [Register Today]

THIS WEEK ON THE KHARON BRIEF

Iran Sanctions Kharon Over Research on Hamas Terrorist Fundraising

The Iranian government sanctioned Kharon on May 2 for its work uncovering terrorism financing networks linked to Hamas. [Read More]

U.S. Reimposes Oil Sanctions on Venezuela But Will Consider Requests for Specific Licenses 

The U.S. opted for the reimposition of oil sanctions on Venezuela while highlighting that it will consider requests for specific licenses that would allow companies to continue their business activities on a case-by-case basis. [Read More]

ANNOUNCEMENT

Kharon Data and Technology Selected by U.S. Department of the Treasury

Kharon has been awarded a contract by the U.S. Department of the Treasury that will grant officials access to its global risk analytics platform.

Read more details in the full announcement. [Read More]

Sign up to have the Kharon Readbook delivered to your inbox every week, click here.

MEDIA ROUNDUP

SANCTIONS        

The U.S. Department of the Treasury, alongside international partners, sanctioned a senior leader of the Russia-based LockBit ransomware group. Concurrently, the U.S. Department of Justice unsealed charges against him. [U.S. Treasury] [U.K. Government] [Australian Government] [U.S. Justice]

The next package of EU sanctions seeks to ban the trans-shipment of Russian LNG and the use of EU ports by vessels transporting goods contributing to Russia's war effort. The proposals also include banning political parties, think tanks, or media in the EU receiving economic benefits from Russia. [Reuters]

A U.S. crackdown on banks financing trade in goods for Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has made it much more difficult to move money in and out of Russia. [FT]

Twenty-one international banks are still operating and making money in Russia, generating USD 970 million in revenue for Russian tax authorities. [Le Monde]

Since the start of the Ukraine invasion, at least EUR 130 million worth of dual-use goods have been shipped through Lithuania to Russia via countries such as Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan. [LRT]

The sister of an Uzbek-Russian billionaire lost a legal battle to overturn EU sanctions placed on her after Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. [Reuters]

Washington is concerned about growing efforts by Iran and groups like Hamas to solicit money in Southeast Asia, a senior U.S. Treasury official said during a visit intended to rally support for sanctions enforcement in the region. [Bloomberg]

According to a new report, Iranian traders smuggle more than USD 1 billion worth of fuel into neighboring Pakistan annually, potentially foreshadowing a crackdown on the black market. [Nikkei Asia]

Iran has just weeks to comply with monitoring demands issued by the U.N. nuclear watchdog, or risk being slapped with a new round of diplomatic censure. [Bloomberg]

The U.K. imposed sanctions on extremist groups and individuals for inciting and perpetrating settler violence in the West Bank. [U.K. Government]

Venezuela is allowing a small startup company to import fuels even as the country struggles to feed its own refineries and the recent reimposition of U.S. sanctions presses on its industry. [Bloomberg]

The abrupt disbanding of an expert panel tasked with monitoring North Korean compliance with U.N. sanctions has raised concerns that Pyongyang will have a free hand to ramp up its nuclear weapons and missile development. [Nikkei Asia] 

The U.K. Government hosted a senior U.S. Government delegation for the second U.S.-U.K. Strategic Sanctions Dialogue, where officials discussed the uses of targeted, coordinated sanctions and export control measures to deter and disrupt malign activity and to defend international norms. [U.S. State]

COMPLIANCE + ENFORCEMENT        

The U.S. Treasury amended regulations which set forth standard reporting and recordkeeping requirements and license application and other procedures relevant to the economic sanctions programs administered by OFAC. [U.S. Treasury]

OFAC deployed its new Sanctions List Service (SLS), which is now the primary application that will be used to deliver sanctions list files and data to the public. [U.S. Treasury]

In light of intensified terrorist activity in the Middle East, the U.S. FinCEN issued an advisory to assist financial institutions in detecting potentially illicit transactions related to Iran-backed terrorist organizations. [U.S. FinCEN]

Six individuals were charged for their roles in a money laundering network that repatriated drug trafficking proceeds via cryptocurrency transfers to Colombia through the U.S. [U.S. Justice]

The parent company of TikTok made clear it won’t comply with a new U.S. law requiring it to sell its popular video-sharing app, setting up what likely will be a prolonged court battle pitting free-speech rights against national security interests that could end up at the Supreme Court. [Bloomberg]

Canada’s FINTRAC imposed an administrative monetary penalty of CAD 6,002,000 on a large cryptocurrency exchange for failing to register as a foreign money services business and to report large virtual currency transactions. [FINTRAC]

TRADE CONTROLS + SUPPLY CHAIN        

The U.S. Commerce Department added 37 Chinese entities to a trade restriction list, including some for allegedly supporting the spy balloon that flew over the U.S. last year. [Reuters]

The U.S. Commerce Department has revoked licenses that allowed certain companies to ship chips used for laptops and handsets to sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment maker Huawei Technologies. [Reuters]

The Biden administration is poised to open up a new front in its effort to safeguard U.S. artificial intelligence from China and Russia with preliminary plans to place guardrails around the most advanced AI models, the core software of many AI systems. [Reuters] 

U.S. President Joe Biden has proposed new barriers to Chinese electric vehicles, steel, and other goods in an attempt to protect American factories. [NYT] 

The head of Saudi Arabia’s new investment fund for semiconductor and artificial intelligence technology said the country would divest from China if it were asked to do so by the U.S. [Bloomberg]

HUMAN RIGHTS + FORCED LABOR        

Traces of banned Chinese cotton were found in 19 percent of a sample of merchandise selling at U.S. and global retailers in the past year, highlighting the challenges of complying with the U.S. law aimed at blocking imports of cotton linked to forced labor in China. [Reuters]