Iran Export Controls

The multilateral Nuclear Suppliers Group met last week for the first time in more than a year to discuss export controls over nuclear weapons, the Iran nuclear deal, nonproliferation trade restrictions and more. The 48 member countries proposed updates to NSG export control lists and tapped a U.S. official to be a new group chair. Last year’s plenary was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control issued guidance and three new general licenses to expand humanitarian-related exemptions for shipments and activities in sanctioned countries. The licenses apply to Iran, Syria and Venezuela and are accompanied by six new frequently asked questions to “further support the critical work” of humanitarian and COVID-19 aid to people in sanctioned regions. The guidance comes amid criticism from humanitarian groups that U.S. sanctions continue to inadvertently block aid shipments (see 2105260047 and 2105280004).

The Commerce Department is working with a police agency in rural Texas to help investigate illegally exported goods, an unorthodox relationship that has sparked concern among industry lawyers and led to disputed seizures.

Tina Chen, a resident of Las Vegas and owner of electronics and computer components exporter Top One Zone, was indicted by a federal grand jury for conspiracy to export goods from the U.S. to Iran, the Department of Justice said in a May 28 news release. Chen allegedly worked with others to purchase and ship goods from U.S. companies through entities in Hong Kong to individuals in Iran without a license from the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control. Chen hid the identities of the end-users, DOJ alleged. She is charged with one count of conspiracy to unlawfully export goods to Iran in violation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations -- a charge that carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine.

A “groundbreaking” settlement agreement between a German software company and three U.S. agencies (see 2104290069 and 2105070042) may signal greater enforcement of sanctions and export violations and present more compliance challenges for industry, law firms said. The more than $8 million settlement between SAP SE and the Justice, Treasury and Commerce departments -- the first non-prosecution agreement under the Justice Department's revised voluntary disclosure policies (see 2008180043) -- also includes several important lessons for businesses and may lay out how monitorships can be avoided, the firms said.

Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with the top stories for May 10-14 in case you missed them. You can find any article by searching on the title or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.

Following the Department of Justice's first resolution of action under a new export control tool, greater efforts should be made to conduct export-related due diligence and act on those recommendations, according to a May 6 analysis from Sidley Austin. Merely conducting audits of exports and sanctions is not good enough anymore, Sidley said. Implementing audit recommendations and putting in place a robust process to receive, investigate and elevate whistleblower complaints should be a priority following the DOJ's settlement with German software company SAP SE.

Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with the top stories for April 26-30 in case you missed them. You can find any article by searching on the title or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.

A German software company agreed to pay more than $8 million in fines after it admitted to violating U.S. export controls and sanctions against Iran, the Justice, Treasury and Commerce departments announced April 29. The company, SAP SE, came to settlement agreements with all three agencies after it voluntarily disclosed the violations, which included illegal exports and reexports of U.S.-origin software.

Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with the top stories for April 19-23 in case you missed them. You can find any article by searching on the title or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.