Two subsidiaries of Schlumberger Limited – one current and one former – were hit with sanctions violations in dual press releases this week. The combined fines totaled more than $1.5 million.
This past month we have seen multiple penalties handed down for illegal exports to prohibited destinations through the use of front companies and diversion. In three particular cases, the items were diverted to an end-user that was not originally disclosed and were shipped through an intermediary.
We all remember the cute nursery rhyme “Peter Piper.” (Try reciting it five times fast!) But in today’s world of ransomware attacks, many U.S. companies are caught in a troublesome “pickle” trying to figure out what to do.
Export Solutions is excited to announce the newest member of our team, Kali White! Learn more about Kali here.
Recently the former CEO of Stargate Apparel, Inc. and Rivstar Apparel, Inc., ran afoul of CBP for Customs fraud due to the under-valuation of apparel imported into the United States from China. A former employee turned whistleblower filed a ‘qui tami’ whistleblower complaint under the False Claims Act.
On August 9, 2021, Keysight Technologies agreed to a settlement with DDTC on the allegations of committing 24 export violations of the ITAR for unauthorized exports of technical data and software to multiple countries that would have required licenses. There is a lot to be learned from the Keysight settlement.
Recently there have been an increased number of enforcement cases from BIS, OFAC, and DDTC hitting the compliance newsletter circuit and we thought it worthwhile to outline the issues for our readership and note some key takeaways from the agency’s actions.
Recently, Yi-Chi Shih was sentenced to more than five years in prison for scheming to illegally export integrated circuits with a military end-use to China. He was also ordered to pay some hefty fines. Unfortunately, even the best companies can fall victim to frauds and scams, but there are things that you can do to help prevent this.
Deemed exports can present a challenging compliance environment for companies as they straddle export control regulations as well as employment and anti-discrimination law. Companies should involve their Human Resources group as well as Trade Compliance to ensure that they are effectively and compliantly navigating both export compliance regulations and employment law.
Last month, BIS amended the EAR to reflect the removal of the UAE from the list of countries participating in the Arab League Boycott of Israel. With this amendment, it’s a good time to review what the EAR says about the anti-boycott requirements and what your company needs to do to comply.