US – OFAC Venezuela general licenses and FAQ update

On June 18, OFAC issued Venezuela GL 5X, GL 24A, and GL 59, and amended FAQ 595.

GL 5X delays until August 4, 2026 the authorization for transactions related to the PDVSA 2020 8.5% bond; until that date, FAQ 595 states that transactions involving the sale or transfer of CITGO shares tied to that bond remain prohibited unless specifically licensed.

GL 24A authorizes certain transactions involving Government of Venezuela persons blocked solely under EO 13884 that are incident to telecommunications and to common-carrier mail/package services, while GL 59 authorizes US-person supply of goods, technology, software, and services for maintenance, repair, safety, airworthiness, upgrades, and related logistics for Conviasa aircraft, subject to exclusions for noncommercial payment terms, debt swaps, gold or Venezuelan digital currency, certain Russia/Iran/North Korea/Cuba/China-linked parties, unblocking, military/intelligence activity, and other prohibited dealings.

For compliance professionals: treat these as narrow authorizations, not general Venezuela relief; legal, sanctions, export-control, and aviation teams should document the precise license basis, screen all counterparties and aircraft interests, and separately assess BIS/export-control requirements. OFAC recent action

US – BIS and DOJ Bosch export-control resolution.

Note: see a separate article from Elyvia Law dedicated to this settlement: The Sensor That Traveled Too Far

On June 17, BIS announced that Robert Bosch GmbH agreed to pay a $36,184,680 administrative penalty for alleged EAR violations involving about $72.37 million in foreign-produced MEMS sensors and automotive software exported to Huawei and Huawei affiliates on the Entity List without required authorization.

DOJ separately announced a declination under the Department-wide Corporate Enforcement and Voluntary Self-Disclosure Policy, citing Bosch’s prompt disclosure, cooperation, remediation, and agreement to disgorge profits.

Exporters and multinational manufacturers should review the settlement information and reassess Foreign Direct Product Rule coverage and non-U.S. subsidiary compliance support. BIS settlement information

US – State/DDTC proposed ITAR Part 130 reporting reforms.

On June 15, the State Department published a proposed rule to amend ITAR Part 130 and related sections governing reporting of political contributions, fees, and commissions connected to certain foreign defense sales and arms-transfer cases.

The proposal would modernize and streamline reporting on covered political contributions and fees or commissions, and comments are due August 14, 2026.

Defense exporters, brokers, suppliers, and compliance teams should review existing Part 130 workflows and consider submitting comments if the proposal would materially affect licensing, contract-award, or reporting processes. proposed rule

UK – Russia sanctions package targeting shadow fleet, procurement, and finance networks.

On June 16, the UK announced 70 new sanctions targeting Russia’s shadow fleet, military procurement supply chains, and illicit finance networks.

The package included measures against more than 20 oil tankers, ship insurers and shipping services, several LNG vessels linked to Russia’s Arctic LNG 2 project, GRU-linked procurement actors, third-country suppliers, and entities involved in sanctions-evasion finance networks.

Maritime, insurance, trade-finance, energy, logistics, and dual-use suppliers should update party and vessel screening, including IMO-level vessel checks and ownership/control analysis. UK sanctions package

UK – OFSI Russia “UK Interdiction” general licence.

OFSI published General License INT/2026/9559192, titled UK Interdiction, under the Russia sanctions regime; although the GOV.UK page lists publication on June 15, the license itself took effect from June 12, 2026.

In this licence, “interdiction” means actions taken to facilitate, enable, or support the UK Government in exercising legal powers under the Russia Regulations to enforce possible sanctions breaches, where those support actions would otherwise breach specified sanctions prohibitions.

In plain English, this is a narrow carveout for people or institutions acting under UK Government direction to support government enforcement action, not a general private-sector authority to seize assets, route payments, or deal with designated persons on one’s own initiative.

Here’s a hypothetical example: a UK Government agency identifies a vessel suspected of carrying sanctioned Russian-origin goods and directs a UK port operator, a contracted maritime services provider, and the vessel’s UK bank to assist with a lawful interdiction.

The port operator may need to deny departure, secure the cargo area, provide access to records, or make limited services available to keep the vessel safe while authorities inspect it; the bank may need to process a narrowly related payment, such as a port-safety or custody-related charge, that would otherwise raise sanctions concerns.

The OFSI “UK Interdiction” general license is designed to cover those necessary support steps when they are taken under UK Government direction and within the license conditions.

It would not allow the port operator or bank to independently seize cargo, continue ordinary commercial dealings with a designated person, or release funds outside the interdiction purpose.

Note, that this license has a very narrow / highly specific scope and requires accurate records to be kept for at least six years. General License INT/2026/9559192

UK – OFSI Sabre Global Technologies penalty.

Note: stay tuned for a separate article from Elyvia Law dedicated to this settlement: coming soon.

On June 17, OFSI announced a £1,000,920.59 penalty against Sabre Global Technologies Limited for breaches of the Russia sanctions regime involving Ural Airlines, a designated Russian airline.

OFSI said Sabre continued providing access to its Global Distribution System for seven months after designation and tested alternative payment routes to get around UK sanctions.

Technology, travel, SaaS, distribution-platform, and payments businesses should treat access to digital systems as a potential economic resource and escalate blocked or diverted payments rather than routing around sanctions controls. OFSI penalty announcement

EU – Russia sanctions listings and Crimea/Sevastopol renewal.

On June 15, the Council adopted new Russia-related restrictive measures covering 34 individuals and 47 entities, targeting Russia’s military-industrial complex, energy revenues, shadow-fleet ecosystem, hybrid activities, propaganda, and human-rights abuses linked to Alexei Navalny.

The Council also renewed EU restrictive measures concerning Crimea and Sevastopol until June 23, 2027.

EU operators should update asset-freeze screening, vessel and maritime-service controls, third-country procurement red flags, and anti-circumvention reviews for Russian military and energy supply chains. Council press release