On February 28, 2013, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), Department of Commerce, published in the Federal Register a final rule which corrects reference and typographical errors in the Export Administration Regulations (EAR). The corrections are editorial in nature and do not affect license requirements. The rule revises the authority citations paragraphs to the following parts of the EAR: Parts 730, 734, 736, 742 and 745 of the EAR (15 C.F.R. parts 730, 734,…
On December 20, 2012, OFAC issued General License No. 6 under the Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferators Sanctions Regulations, 31 C.F.R. Part 544, authorizing certain transactions related to the arrest, detention, and judicial sale of the MV Uppercourt (a.k.a. Iran Bojnoord, IMO No. 9305207), which is a vessel on OFAC’s Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons list. The vessel is currently under arrest in Quinhuangdao, China.
On December 19, 2012, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) published in the Federal Register a final rule, effective on publication, which amends the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) by adding a requirement for persons shipping under Authorization Validated End-User (VEU) to send written notice of such shipments to the recipient VEU. BIS further amends the EAR to clarify that when items subject to item specific conditions under Authorization VEU no longer require a license…
On November 14, 2012, the Criminal Division of the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Enforcement Division of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) released a publication entitled, A Resource Guide to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The publication is available for downloading from the DOJ or SEC websites. According to the Introduction, the “guide is intended to provide information for businesses and individuals regarding the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA)….…
On November 7, 2012, the Bureau of Industry and security (BIS) published in the Federal Register a proposed rule [Docket No. 120207107-2565-01] that would require that the final, comprehensive narrative account required in voluntary self-disclosures (VSDs) of violations of the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) be submitted to the Office of Export Enforcement within 180 days of the initial VSD notification. This proposed rule also would authorize the use of delivery services other than registered or…
On October 22, 2012, the Secretary of the Economy published in the Diario Oficial de la Federacion an Acuerdo which modifies the June 16, 2011 Acuerdo on export controls for conventional weapons, their parts and components, dual use goods, software and technology that could be diverted for the manufacture or proliferation of conventional weapons and those of mass destruction. The modifications included changes adopted in the 2012 Harmonized System, the Wassenar Agreement, the ML7 Munitions…
The United Kingdom’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has reviewed its policy on facilitation payments, business expenditure and corporate self-reporting and has revised its Questions and Answers page. The revisions were published because following his appointment, the Director of the SFO decided to review SFO policies and take forward recommendations made by the OECD Working Group on Bribery. The revisions have been published to: restate the SFO’s primary role as an investigator and prosecutor of serious…