The U.S. government is sanctioning four people with links to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), including members of an ISIS-linked human smuggling network, the State and Treasury departments announced last week.

The Bureau of Industry and Security imposed a $285,000 civil penalty on Sapphire Havacilik San Ltd. to resolve allegations that the Turkey-based company flew a U.S.-origin Gulfstream aircraft on private charter flights into Russia without a required BIS reexport license, the agency announced June 13. The flights occurred in October 2023 and January 2024 and were arranged by Russian nationals.

The nearly 700 companies that the Bureau of Industry and Security has flagged for potentially sending export controlled goods to Russia include foreign suppliers in China, Turkey, India and others across Asia, Europe, Africa and the Middle East, according to a list obtained by Export Compliance Daily.

Lawmakers are proposing dozens of export control-, sanctions- and foreign investment-related amendments to the House version of the FY 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), including measures aimed at China, Iran and Russia.

The U.S. and other countries imposing sanctions and export controls on Russia need a more “aggressive” plan to cripple Moscow’s war effort, a group of researchers and economists said, including through tighter financial restrictions, new bans on Russian commodities and broader export controls. They also said American lawyers should have to follow strict due diligence and reporting rules when taking on clients with ties to Russia, and said the price cap on Russian oil should be lowered.

The Council of the European Union on May 28 renewed for another year its sanctions measures on Syria, also extending the humanitarian exemption in the restrictions regime. The sanctions now run until June 1, 2025, and cover 316 people and 86 entities. The humanitarian exemption was originally introduced in February 2023, following an earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria. The council also removed five deceased people and "one other individual" from the sanctions list.

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U.S. companies doing business in Turkey should be “alert” about possible violations of U.S. antiboycott laws after Turkey announced a ban on trade with Israel earlier this month (see 2405030020), the Bureau of Industry and Security said.

The price cap on Russian oil has so far failed to stop Moscow from earning revenue for its war against Ukraine, witnesses told the U.K. Parliament this week. While one witness said the U.K. should consider placing new restrictions on certain energy purchases from companies that are still buying Russian oil, another said that may be too complicated for businesses to comply with.

The European Commission on May 14 extended its antidumping duties on birch plywood from Russia to cover goods from Kazakhstan and Turkey. The extension was made after an investigation showed that the duties were being circumvented by "imports transshipped from Russia" to Kazakhstan and Turkey, "or sent for final completion to these countries," before shipment to the EU. The commission said Russian birch plywood makers have been trying to find new ways to sell their goods since imports of birch plywood from Russia were banned after that country's invasion of Ukraine.