On April 15, 2024, the U.S. Treasury Department (Treasury), as the Chair of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS or the Committee), published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) “to enhance certain CFIUS procedures and sharpen its penalty and enforcement authorities.”  In particular, the proposed new measures would expand the authority of CFIUS to gather information related to both notified and non-notified transactions, impose more significant civil penalties on transaction parties, and alter procedures related to the negotiation of mitigation agreements.&nb ..read more

On March 1, 2024, the federal district court in the Northern District of Alabama declared in the case of National Small Business United v. Yellen that the Corporate Transparency Act (“CTA”) exceeds the Constitution’s limits on Congress’s power. The court enjoined the Department of the Treasury and Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) – the agency responsible for implementing the CTA – from enforcing the CTA against the plaintiffs in this case. While the ruling enjoins enforcement only against the plaintiffs in the specific case, the rationale used by the court is a broad rejection o ..read more

On February 28, 2024, the Biden administration announced the creation of a new national security regulatory regime that will prohibit or restrict certain transactions involving bulk sensitive US personal data or government-related data and specified “countries of concern.” The Biden administration announced the regime in a new executive order, Preventing Access to Americans’ Bulk Sensitive Personal Data and United States Government-Related Data by Countries of Concern (EO 14117), which was accompanied by an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) issued by the National Security Division ..read more

In a first of its kind action, the US Department of Commerce has begun a rulemaking process to prohibit or impose conditions on certain transactions involving foreign technology used in so-called “connected vehicles” or “CVs,” as defined below for automotive applications. The measure, announced by Commerce on February 29, 2024 in a press release and an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM), is Commerce’s first attempt to cover a class of transactions under the Department’s Information and Communications Technology and Services (ICTS) rules. The ICTS rules, contained at 15 CFR Part 7 ..read more

On February 27, 2024, HM Treasury’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (“OFSI”) published a number of guidance documents on financial sanctions licensing addressing the process of applying for a licence, as well as the principles applied when making licensing decisions relating to designated individuals.  Publication of the guidance follows a recent court case in which OFSI’s decision to refuse certain licence applications in relation to a designated individual sanctioned under the UK’s Russia sanctions regime was unsuccessfully challenged.  The newly published guidance pro ..read more

On February 23, 2024, the United States issued a broad set of new Russia-related sanctions and export controls in response to the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the February 16, 2024, death of opposition leader, Aleksey Navalny, in Russian custody. The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), and the State Department all issued new designations.  The agencies also issued an inter-agency advisory warning non-Russian companies from doing business in or with Russia. Treasury Departm ..read more

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) has published major revisions to its humanitarian authorizations and other general licenses under the North Korean Sanctions Regulations (“NKSR”), which took effect on February 16, 2024.  These regulatory changes expand the scope of authorized activity in North Korea, which should lead to fewer specific license applications for NGOs engaged in humanitarian work relating to the DPRK.  In this regard, OFAC has narrowed the restriction on authorized activity arising from “partnerships” with the DPRK governme ..read more

The UK government introduced new reporting requirements under The Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (“Russia Regulations”) in December 2023, with the goal of strengthening transparency in relation to assets frozen under the regime and assisting HM Treasury’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (“OFSI”) to monitor compliance with, and detect evasion of, financial sanctions administered under the Russia regime.  The two new reporting measures are the immobilized assets reporting measure and the designated persons asset reporting measure.  On February 12, 2024, OFSI ..read more

The UK’s National Economic Crime Centre (“NECC”) recently issued an amber alert concerning the sanctions evasion, money laundering, and trafficking in cultural property risks presented to UK industries linked to artwork storage facilities and the art storage sector (the “Amber Alert”).  The Amber Alert highlights that criminals are finding ways to utilize the art market to conduct illicit activity and includes case studies and key indicators that those operating within the art storage sector can use to detect such activity.  This development underscores the UK government’s continued ..read more

On February 8, 2024, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) published a notice of proposed rulemaking (2024 NPRM) about Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) regulations concerning persons involved in residential real estate closings and settlements. To promote U.S. AML/CFT objectives, the NPRM proposes a system of streamlined Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) for certain U.S. real estate transactions. The NPRM does yet not have the force and effect of law, and FinCEN has requested public comments to be submitted ..read more