The State Department is adjusting its civil monetary penalties for inflation, the agency said in a notice released Jan. 10. The new amounts, which include revised maximum penalties for violations of the International Traffic in Arms Regulations and the Arms Export Control Act, will apply only to penalties assessed on or after Jan. 11, the agency said. For penalties adjusted “according to recent legislation,” the new amounts will apply only to penalties “assessed for violations occurring on or after December 27, 2022.”
The Bureau of Industry and Security on Jan. 5 revoked the export privileges of three people after they tried to illegally export guns and ammunition.
Arturo Carlos Murillo Prijic, former Bolivian minister of government, was sentenced to 70 months in prison for conspiring to launder bribes he received for helping a U.S. firm win a contract from the Bolivian government, DOJ announced. Murillo pleaded guilty in October to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering (see 2210210024).
Xiaoqing Zheng of Niskayuna, New York, was sentenced to two years in prison for conspiring to steal trade secrets from General Electric with the intent to benefit China, DOJ announced. Zhen also was ordered to pay a $7,500 fine and serve one year of supervised release following his imprisonment.
The Commerce Department is adjusting its civil monetary penalties for inflation for 2023, the agency said in a notice. The change increases maximum civil monetary penalties for violations of the Export Controls Act of 2018 from $328,121 to $353,534, Commerce said. The rule is effective Jan. 15.
The U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland in a Dec. 22 opinion denied three Maryland men's post-trial motions seeking dismissal of their convictions, among other things, pertaining to their efforts to illegally export arms and ammunition to Nigeria. The court said Wilson Tita of Owings Mills, Eric Nji of Fort Washington and Wilson Fonguh of Bowie failed to prove that the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Ass'n v. Bruen rendered unconstitutional the defendants' conviction on a charge of transporting a firearm with an obliterated serial number (U.S. v. Wilson Nuyila Tita).
The Bureau of Industry and Security revoked the export privileges of two people this week after they tried to illegally export guns and ammunition.
The Bureau of Industry and Security this week renewed temporary denial orders for three Russian airlines (see 2206240051) because they continue to illegally operate aircraft on flights into and out of Russia. The agency renewed denial orders for Siberian Airlines, Pobeda Airlines and Nordwind Airlines for 180 days.
Arif Ugur, a Cambridge, Massachusetts, resident, was sentenced to 33 months in prison and two years of supervised release for scheming to illegally export defense technical data to manufacturers in Turkey in violation of the Arms Export Control Act, DOJ announced Dec. 15. The technical data related to the "fraudulent manufacturing of parts and components used by the U.S. military" -- parts the Defense Department later found to be "substandard and unsuitable for use by the military."
The Bureau of Industry and Security this week renewed the temporary denial order for Belavia Belarusian Airlines, Belarus' state-owned national airline. BIS first suspended the export privileges of the airline in June (see 2206160015), barring it from participating in transactions with items subject to the Export Administration Regulations. The agency renewed the denial order for another 180 days on Dec. 13 after finding Belavia continues to illegally operate aircraft subject to the EAR, including for flights between Russia, Belarus, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.