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May

14

The Case of the Missing FLIR

Posted by Clif Burns at 11:23 pm on May 14, 2014

HRC Series Flir Camera via http://www.flir.com/uploadedImages/CS_EMEA/Products/HRC_series/HRC.png [Fair Use] Last week a federal grand jury in Illinois indicted Bilal Ahmed on charges that he attempted to export a FLIR HRC-U thermal imaging camera, classified as ECCN 6A003.b.4.b, to Pakistan without the required license from the Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”).

Reading the criminal complaint, which is the most detailed statement of facts in the case, reveals a few somewhat strange holes in the government’s case. Basically, the only evidence that the government has that Bilal Ahmed exported or even attempted to export anything was a box that they searched at a UPS store addressed to a company in Pakistan that had an invoice for the camera and, apparently, nothing else.

The complaint starts by describing the negotiations between Ahmed and a used-goods seller to buy an HRC-series thermal imaging camera. After payment was made, the camera was shipped to the address of Ahmed’s company Trexim Corporation, in Schaumburg, Illinois. Federal agents then followed Ahmed from his home in Bolingbrook, Illinois, to a FedEx office in Bolingbrook, Illinois. The complaint does not indicate what, whether a box or a letter or anything else, Ahmed took the FedEx store and there is absolutely no indication of what he might have shipped from there. Going to a FedEx store can hardly constitute evidence of an illegal export

Subsequently Ahmed contacted the seller and indicated that he had received the camera, that it was in bad condition, and that he wanted a case for it. An agreement was made to send him the case. The case was shipped to Schaumburg and agents then followed Ahmed again, this time from his office in Schaumburg to a UPS store in Elk Grove village. After Ahmed left, the agents inspected the contents of the box, which was addressed to Pakistan and labeled NLR, and found an invoice for the HRC camera. No other contents of the box were mentioned in the criminal complaint beyond the invoice. If the camera case was in there, you would think that the criminal complaint would, perhaps, mention it since it would be the only solid evidence that the camera, for which the case would have been destined, had been shipped to Pakistan.

So, you may wonder, where is the camera or any evidence that it was exported? The agents apparently failed to inspect the package at the Bolingbrook FedEx, and when they did get around to looking at the box at the Elk Grove Village UPS all they found of any interest was an invoice. That is apparently why Ahmed is charged only with attempted export, but there doesn’t seem to be any evidence of any attempted export of the camera either. I guess the idea is that sending the invoice alone was an attempted export, a far-fetched notion at best.

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May

7

Incorporating in Delaware Leads to Huge OFAC Fine for Argentinian Company

Posted by Clif Burns at 11:51 pm on May 7, 2014

By Almonroth (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AU.S._Treasury-3.jpg Yesterday the Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) announced that it had imposed a $2,809,800 fine on Argentina-based Decolar.com, Inc. Decolar is an online travel agency and attracted the ire of OFAC for booking trips by non-U.S. persons to Cuba, trips for 17,836 people to be precise. This made OFAC very, very angry:

Decolar demonstrated reckless disregard for U.S. sanctions requirements when it failed to ascertain the U.S. sanctions requirements applicable to its business operations, relying instead upon a third party’s oral assurances that Decolar’s conduct did not require an OFAC license. With the exercise of appropriate due diligence, Decolar’s senior
management reasonably should have been aware of the applicable prohibitions under the CACR. Based upon the number of apparent violations and the length of time over which they occurred, the apparent violations also appear to have resulted from a pattern or practice of conduct

So, you’re no doubt wondering where OFAC gets the right to fine a company based in Argentina for violating the U.S. sanctions on Cuba. Simple. Even though the company was based in Argentina, it was incorporated in Delaware. This was probably the most expensive incorporation in Delaware ever.

One thing that Â is odd about the OFAC release is its coy reference to the “third party” that told Decolar that it had nothing to worry about. My guess, particularly due to OFAC’s reluctance to identify this party, is that it was likely a lawyer. Saying that relying on a lawyer is “reckless” is harsh, even by OFAC standards, but it seems that if this mysteriously anonymous third party had been, say, the company janitor, OFAC could not have resisted mentioning that. After all, that would indeed be reckless. And, of course, the company was even more reckless for not ignoring their legal counsel and doing the research themselves. You know, by looking at the Spanish version of the Cuba sanctions which OFAC keeps on its website. Oh wait, there isn’t a Spanish version.

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Apr

29

Bad Times for Timchenko

Posted by Clif Burns at 9:45 pm on April 29, 2014

Category: BIS • Entity List • OFAC • Russia Sanctions • Sanctions • SDN List

Gennady Timchenko via http://www.timchenkofoundation.org/en/about/trustees/1/ [Fair Use] The Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) yesterday added thirteen companies to the Entity List as part of new sanctions against Russia. Many of these companies are connected to Gennady Timchenko who was added to the SDN List in the first round of sanctions and whom we have discussed previously on this blog. Under the Export Administration Rules, licenses are required for exports of all items “subject to the EAR” (i.e., U.S. origin items or foreign produced items with specified percentages of U.S. content) to anyone placed on the Entity List. BIS has said that there will be a presumption of denial for license applications to export items to the thirteen companies newly added to the list.

The companies added to the entity list are the following:

Stroytransgaz Holding, located in Cyprus; Volga Group, located in Luxembourg and Russia; and Aquanika, Avia Group LLC, Avia Group Nord LLC, CJSC Zest, Sakhatrans LLC, Stroygazmontazh, Stroytransgaz Group, Stroytransgaz LLC, Stroytransgaz-M LLC, Stroytransgaz OJSC, and Transoil, all located in Russia.

The Volga Group is owned by Timchenko and itself owns Aquanika, Avia Group, Avia Group Nord, Transoil, Sakhatrans and Stroytransgaz. The only company on the list not connected to Timchenko is CJSCÂ Zest, which is a leasing company owned by Rossiya Bank.

Interestingly, if you are on pins and needles about whether Justin Timberlake will perform at Hartwall Arena in Finland, the Volga Group, owned by Timchenko, is the vehicle by which Timchenko owns 50 percent of Hartwell Arena. Volga Group, like all of the thirteen companies listed above that have been added to the Entity List, was added yesterday by the Office of Foreign Assets Control to the SDN List. So Justin Timberlake fans planning on heading to Helsinki might want to see if they can get refunds.

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Apr

28

More Russia/Ukraine Sanctions Released; Gazprom Still Safe For the Moment

Posted by Clif Burns at 10:13 am on April 28, 2014

Category: Russia Designations

The White House just released the latest round of Russia/Ukraine sanctions. Â Despite much speculation, Gazprom still not on the list, likely because of collateral casualties such a sanction would impose on other non-Russian businesses. Â Here’s the new list.

BELAVENCEV, Oleg Evgenyevich (a.k.a. BELAVENTSEV, Oleg); DOB 15 Sep 1949; Russian Presidential Envoy to the Crimean District; Member of the Russian Security Council (individual) [UKRAINE2].

CHEMEZOV, Sergei (a.k.a. CHEMEZOV, Sergey Viktorovich); DOB 20 Aug 1952; POB Cheremkhovo, Irkutsk, Russia (individual) [UKRAINE2].

KOZAK, Dmitry; DOB 07 Nov 1958; POB Kirovograd, Ukraine; Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation (individual) [UKRAINE2].

MUROV, Evgeniy Alekseyevich (a.k.a. MUROV, Evgeny; a.k.a. MUROV, Yevgeniy; a.k.a. MUROV, Yevgeny); DOB 18 Nov 1945; POB Zvenigorod, Moscow, Russia; Director of the Federal Protective Service of the Russian Federation; Army General (individual) [UKRAINE2].

PUSHKOV, Aleksei Konstantinovich (a.k.a. PUSHKOV, Alexei); DOB 10 Aug 1954; Chairman of State Duma Committee on International Affairs (individual) [UKRAINE2].

SECHIN, Igor; DOB 07 Sep 1960; POB St. Petersburg, Russia (individual) [UKRAINE2].

VOLODIN, Vyacheslav; DOB 04 Feb 1964; POB Alexeyevka, Khvalynsk district, Saratov, Russia; First Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office (individual) [UKRAINE2].

The following entities have been added to OFAC’s SDN List:

AQUANIKA (a.k.a. AQUANIKA LLC; a.k.a. LLC RUSSKOYE VREMYA; a.k.a. OBSHCHESTVO S OGRANICHENNOI OTVETSTVENNOSTYU RUSSKOE VREMYA; a.k.a. RUSSKOE VREMYA OOO; a.k.a. RUSSKOYE VREMYA LLC), 47A, Sevastopolskiy Ave., of. 304, Moscow 117186, Russia; 1/2 Rodnikovaya ul., Savasleika s., Kulebakski raion, Nizhegorodskaya oblast 607007, Russia; Website http://www.aquanika.com; alt. Website http://aquanikacompany.ru; Email Address [email protected]; Registration ID 1075247000036 [UKRAINE2].

AVIA GROUP LLC (a.k.a. AVIA GROUP LTD), Terminal Aeroport Sheremetyevo Khimki, 141400 Moskovskaya obl., Russia; Website http://www.avia-group.su/ [UKRAINE2].

AVIA GROUP NORD LLC, 17 A, Stratoyava St., Saint Petersburg, Russia; Website http://www.ag-nord.ru [UKRAINE2].

CJSC ZEST (a.k.a. ZEST LEASING), pr. Medikov 5, of. 301, St. Petersburg, Russia; 2 Liter a Pl. Rastrelli, St. Petersburg 191124, Russia; Website http://www.zest-leasing.ru; Registration ID 1027809190507; Government Gazette Number 44323193 [UKRAINE2].

INVESTCAPITALBANK (a.k.a. INVESTKAPITALBANK; a.k.a. OJSC INVESTCAPITALBANK; a.k.a. OPEN JOINT STOCK COMPANY INVESTCAPITALBANK), 100/1, Dostoevskogo Street, Ufa, Bashkortostan Republic 450077, Russia; SWIFT/BIC INAKRU41; Website http://www.investcapitalbank.ru; License 2377 [UKRAINE2].

JSB SOBINBANK (a.k.a. SOBINBANK), 15 Korp. 56 D. 4 Etazh ul. Rochdelskaya, Moscow 123022, Russia; 15/56 Rochdelskaya Street, Moscow 123022, Russia; SWIFT/BIC SBBARUMM; Website http://www.sobinbank.ru; Registration ID 1027739051009; Government Gazette Number 09610355 [UKRAINE2].

SAKHATRANS LLC (a.k.a. OBSHCHESTVO S OGRANICHENNOI OTVETSTVENNOSTYU SAKHA (YAKUTSKAYA) TRANSPORTNAYA KOMPANIYA; a.k.a. SAKHATRANS OOO), 14 ul. Molodezhnaya Rabochi Pos. Vanino, 682860 Vaninski, Raion Khabarovski Krai, Russia [UKRAINE2].

SMP BANK (a.k.a. BANK SEVERNY MORSKOY PUT; a.k.a. SMP BANK OPEN JOINT-STOCK COMPANY), 71/11 Sadovnicheskaya Street, Moscow 115035, Russia; SWIFT/BIC SMBKRUMM; Website www.smpbank.ru; Email Address [email protected] [UKRAINE2].

STROYGAZMONTAZH (a.k.a. LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY STROYGAZMONTAZH; a.k.a. STROYGAZMONTAZH CORPORATION; a.k.a. “SGM”), 53 prospekt Vernadskogo, Moscow 119415, Russia; Website www.ooosgm.com; alt. Website www.ooosgm.ru; Email Address [email protected] [UKRAINE2].

STROYTRANSGAZ GROUP (a.k.a. STROYTRANSGAZ; a.k.a. “STG GROUP”), 3 Begovaya Street, Building #1, Moscow 125284, Russia; Website www.stroytransgaz.ru [UKRAINE2].

STROYTRANSGAZ HOLDING (a.k.a. STG HOLDING LIMITED; a.k.a. STG HOLDINGS LIMITED; a.k.a. STROYTRANSGAZ HOLDING LIMITED; a.k.a. “STGH”), 33 Stasinou Street, Office 2 2003, Nicosia Strovolos, Cyprus [UKRAINE2].

STROYTRANSGAZ LLC (a.k.a. OOO STROYTRANSGAZ), House 65, Novocheremushkinskaya, Moscow 117418, Russia [UKRAINE2].

STROYTRANSGAZ OJSC (a.k.a. OAO STROYTRANSGAZ), House 58, Novocheremushkinskaya St., Moscow 117418, Russia [UKRAINE2].

STROYTRANSGAZ-M LLC, 26th Meeting of the Communist Party Street, House 2V, Novy Urengoy, Tyumenskaya Oblast, Yamalo-Nenetsky Autonomous Region 629305, Russia [UKRAINE2].

THE LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY INVESTMENT COMPANY ABROS (a.k.a. LLC IC ABROS), 2 Liter a Pl. Rastrelli, St. Petersburg 191124, Russia; Government Gazette Number 72426791; Telephone: 7812 3358979 [UKRAINE2].

TRANSOIL (a.k.a. LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY TRANSOIL; f.k.a. OBSHCHESTVO S ORGANICHERNNOI OTVETSTVENNOSTYU TRANSOIL; a.k.a. TRANSOIL LLC; a.k.a. TRANSOYL SNG LTD.), 18A Petrogradskaya nab., St. Petersburg 197046, Russia; Website http://www.transoil-spb.ru; alt. Website http://transoil.com; Email Address [email protected]; Registration ID 1037835069986 [UKRAINE2].

VOLGA GROUP (a.k.a. VOLGA GROUP INVESTMENTS; f.k.a. VOLGA RESOURCES; f.k.a. VOLGA RESOURCES GROUP), 3, rue de la Reine L-2418, Luxembourg; Russia [UKRAINE2].

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Apr

23

Stuck Between a Rock and an OFAC Place

Posted by Clif Burns at 9:40 pm on April 23, 2014

Category: Cuba Sanctions • OFAC

Carlson Wagonlit US HQ via http://careers.carlsonwagonlit.com/jc/external/en/global/meetUs/Locations-Country-DetailPages/USA-Pages/USA_overview.html [Fair Use] Last week the Office of Foreign Assets Control announced that it whacked Carlson Wagonlit with a massive $5,990,490 fine for doing business in Europe as an American. Specifically, the massive fine was levied because Carlson was involved in arranging travel for Europeans to Cuba. Carlson became subject to U.S. sanctions on Cuba in 2006 when French hotel chain Accor sold its 50 percent stake in Carlson Wagonlit to Carlson and JPMorgan Chase, resulting in control of Carlson Wagonlit by U.S. companies.

In justifying the massive fine OFAC tut-tuts that Carlson Wagonlit was a sophisticated international company that processed Cuba travel for “four years before recognizing that it was subject to U.S. jurisdiction” and that it had either no compliance program or an “inadequate” one. Of course, OFAC omits from its chastisement of Carlson Wagonlit one significant fact: the 900-pound E.U. Council Regulation that made it illegal for Carlson Wagonlit to refuse to book travel to Cuba

In essence, and as I’ve said before, OFAC’s enforcement of the Cuba Sanctions against U.S. companies in Europe in these circumstances is tantamount to making it illegal for American companies to do business in Europe. This is particularly true for travel companies which simply cannot avoid being requested to book travel for Cuba. If the Company refuses, it violates E.U. law; if it complies, it violates U.S. laws. Sanctioned if you do; sanctioned if you don’t.

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