During his five-year run in the U.S. Department of the Treasury, former Assistant General Counsel for International Affairs Ted Posner helped guide the creation of the outbound investment security program and manage Treasury's leadership role in the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. Now that he's back in the private sector as the head of Trade Risk Mitigation and National Security at Baker Botts LLP, The Export Practitioner caught up with Posner to talk tips for staying out of CFIUS's crosshairs and the government's evolving approach to IEEPA.
Two California residents have been arrested on federal charges of illegally exporting sensitive U.S.-made microchips to China through a shell company set up to evade U.S. export control laws.
A Russian-born U.S. citizen has pleaded guilty in federal court to charges stemming from a conspiracy to smuggle controlled scientific equipment from the United States to Russia in violation of U.S. export control laws imposed after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Andritz Inc., a Pennsylvania-based industrial manufacturer, will pay a $1.58 million civil penalty after U.S. authorities found the company violated export controls 36 times by shipping refiner plates that were ultimately reexported to Russia without the required licenses.
Cadence Design Systems, Inc., a San Jose–based leader in electronic design automation (EDA) technology, has agreed to plead guilty to a criminal charge and pay more than $140 million in combined criminal and civil penalties for unlawfully exporting semiconductor design tools to a restricted Chinese military university.
U.S. authorities are intensifying enforcement against companies that evade customs duties, as the Department of Justice (DOJ) elevates trade and customs fraud—including tariff evasion—to a top national enforcement priority. Backed by internal DOJ directives, reorganized enforcement teams, and enhanced whistleblower incentives, the government has launched a broad crackdown that blends civil False Claims Act (FCA) actions with criminal investigations, reshaping the compliance landscape for importers.
A former engineer at a defense-linked California research firm pleaded guilty to stealing highly sensitive U.S. military technologies and attempting to support the People’s Republic of China’s defense modernization efforts. Chenguang Gong, 59, of San Jose, stole material pertained to advanced infrared sensor technologies used in U.S. missile detection systems and fighter jet countermeasures.
The United States intensified efforts this week to disrupt the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s (DPRK) global revenue-generation networks used to fund its ballistic missile and weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programs.
A federal judge in Florida sentenced a Lebanese businessman to 44 months in prison this week for his role in a scheme to unlawfully export U.S.-made heavy machinery to Iran, capping off an investigation led by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Office of Export Enforcement.
FCPA enforcement activity remained dormant for a second consecutive quarter in 2025, according to the latest Stanford Law School Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) Clearinghouse report. The absence of new investigations or enforcement actions in Q2 reflects the impact of President Trump’s February 10 executive order suspending FCPA enforcement pending a comprehensive policy overhaul.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced a $11.8 million settlement with Interactive Brokers LLC (IB) to resolve potential civil liability for 12,367 apparent violations of multiple U.S. sanctions programs committed between 2016 and 2024.
An Iranian national and U.S. lawful permanent resident has been arrested on a four-count federal indictment charging him with unlawfully exporting electronics used in railway signaling and telecommunications systems from the United States to Iran, in violation the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations (ITSR).
The Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division, in partnership with the U.S. Postal Service, has launched a new Whistleblower Rewards Program to encourage individuals to report postal-related antitrust violations.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced a settlement deal topping $1.45 million with Harman International Industries, Inc., a U.S.-based audio and electronics subsidiary of Samsung, to resolve apparent violations of the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations (ITSR).
Bhagavan “Doc” Antle, the owner of Myrtle Beach Safari and a figure featured in a popular Netflix documentary, was sentenced to 12 months in federal prison for conspiring to violate the Lacey Act and laundering over $500,000. The charges stem from the illegal sale of endangered wildlife — including chimpanzees, lions, cheetahs, and tigers — and laundering funds believed to be tied to migrant smuggling.
Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced a $608,825 settlement with Key Holding, LLC to resolve its potential civil liability for 36 apparent violations of the Cuban Assets Control Regulations (CACR), 31 C.F.R. part 515. The violations stemmed from the conduct of a Colombian subsidiary that managed logistics for freight shipments to Cuba between January 2022 and July 2023.
The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has imposed a $4.25 million civil penalty on Alpha and Omega Semiconductor Inc. (AOS) of Sunnyvale, California, pursuant to a settlement resolving allegations of 15 violations of the Export Administration Regulations (EAR). The company admitted to unauthorized exports of semiconductor devices to Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd., a listed entity under U.S. export restrictions.
A Kyrgyz national and international arms dealer pleaded guilty June 25 in a Brooklyn Federal Court to conspiracy to commit export violations related to the illegal smuggling of firearms from the United States to Russia. Sergei Zharnovnikov was arrested on January 24 in Las Vegas, while attending the Shooting, Hunting, and Outdoor Trade (SHOT) Show.
A man arrested in connection with a scheme to illegally export U.S.-origin radio communications technology to Russian end users without a license pleased guilty in US District Court in Washington June 17.
The Justice Department announced it has declined to prosecute White Deer Management LLC, a private equity firm, after the firm voluntarily self-disclosed criminal violations of U.S. sanctions and export control laws committed by an acquired company, Unicat Catalyst Technologies LLC (Unicat).