Jason Prince, former chief counsel at the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control, has moved to Crowell & Moring as a partner, the firm announced. He will advise clients on sanctions and export controls imposed on Russia and other nations and parties. During his time at OFAC, Prince "oversaw the legal design of new sanctions measures and led the legal review of all major OFAC enforcement, compliance, licensing, litigation, and regulatory actions," the firm said.

Charles McGonigal, former special agent in charge of the New York FBI counterintelligence division, and Sergey Shestakov, a Russian court interpreter and former diplomat, were charged with conspiring to commit money laundering and money laundering, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York announced. The two were charged with one count of conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, one count of violating the IEEPA, one count of conspiring to launder money and one count of money laundering, each carrying a maximum 20-year prison sentence. Shestakov also was charged with one count of making false statements, which has a five-year maximum prison sentence.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week designated Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Cooperative Foundation along with five of its board members, Iran's deputy minister of intelligence and security, and four senior IRGC commanders.

Sharath Patil, former associate attorney at Diaz Trade Law, has joined the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control as a sanctions enforcement officer, according to his LinkedIn page. Before working at Diaz Trade Law, Patil was research director for international trade at the nonprofit advocacy group Public Citizen.

The G-7 price cap on Russian oil, along with other trade restrictions, appears to be having a significant impact on the global price of Russian energy, experts said during an event hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies last week. But they also said it remains unclear whether the cap is limiting Russia’s export volumes and said it’s too early to tell how well industry is complying with the cap’s service restrictions.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control removed one individual, Hanna Khalifeh, across three separate entries from its Specially Designated Nationals List, according to a Jan. 19 announcement. Khalifeh was listed on the SDN List for counterterrorism reasons. OFAC didn't immediately provide more information.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control Jan. 17 again extended a general license that continues to delay an exemption that would authorize certain transactions related to Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A. General License 5J, which replaced GL 5I, now authorizes certain transactions with PdVSA involving an 8.5% bond on or after April 20. The agency also updated a frequently asked question to reflect the change. The previous license was set to allow those transactions to occur on or after Jan. 20.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week updated three Russia-related general licenses and four frequently asked questions.

Robert Slack has joined Fenwick & West as a partner in its Washington, D.C.-based regulatory practice, the firm announced. Slack's practice focuses on economic sanctions, export controls and other trade compliance issues. He represents clients before the Office of Foreign Assets Control, the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security, the State Department Directorate of Defense Trade Controls and the Energy Department's National Nuclear Security Administration, the firm said. He is a former partner in Kelley Drye's trade and national security practice.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control is adjusting its civil monetary penalties for inflation, the agency said in a notice. The new amounts include higher maximum penalties for violations of the Trading With the Enemy Act, the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act, the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act and the Clean Diamond Trade Act. The agency also updated two references to “one-half the IEEPA maximum CMP from $165,474 to $178,290” and adjusted the record-keeping CMPs in OFAC’s Economic Sanctions Enforcement Guidelines. The changes take effect Jan. 13.