Commerce: you’ve been grounded. Sanctions & Export Controls for the WIN.

March 18, 2022 Commerce Identifies Commercial & Private Aircraft Exported to Russia in Violation of U.S. Export Controls. BIS tracked aa list of flights owned or controlled by Russian Nationals..

Hi -how have you been? Did I miss anything newsworthy…has Oh Henry entered a plea agreement…

Oh you know exactly who and what I’m talking about (see Aug 2021 article) where I went there: Henry “Enrique” Tarrio’s history of being a Federal Informant. And yes of course I’m aware of Tarrio et al Indictment and yes I’m saying that you should reread that February 2021 and August 2021 articles or not…

I mean come on - do you really think when Tarrio was taken into custody on Jan 4, 2021 randomly landing at Reagan National (look I’m DC -just about- native snd its always going to be Reagan National Airport) — that Tarrio didn’t use the time while he was in custody, to tell the USAO-DC and/or the FBI what he knew about the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers seditious conspiracy. Yes this is me telling you that Tarrio is best positioned to shank ‘countless (not at all) Proud Boys. I’ll bet you cheeseburger, that Tarrio signed a plea agreement months ago but I might be getting ahead of myself —notwithstanding you should absolutely take the time to read the following.

• July 19, 2021 Plea Agreement

• DC Case No -2021 CMD 000106 -docket report

• Case No 2021 CF2 000105 -docket report

Oh Dear Henry -I heard about the USAO-DC July 2021 Plea Deal. Interesting carve out in paragraph 7

And while I haven’t

Point of personal privilege:

I know it’s been a while, however I’d like to remind you that on March 6, 2022 —I informed my readers that I was likely unable to publish while serving on a jury. For obvious reasons I can not speak about the case. Conversely I can say that in my personal opinion Jury service is a civic duty and it’s been “interesting” to see how our judicial system continues to be constrained due to COVID-19.

It has also been very eye opening seeing how disinformation and misinformation has seeped into the “mainstream” —with about 29% of Americans still unvaccinated. I’m not talking about adults who maybe immunocompromised or for other medical reasons can not be vaccinated. Years ago after finishing up a grueling round of chemo, I had to revaccinate a few of my childhood vaccinations because the chemo killed those antibodies. So when I say I understand, I really do. Below are a few resources

• CDC How Do I Find a COVID-19 Vaccine or Booster

• CDC Booster (COVID-19) Shot Guidance

• COVID Variants of Concern

• Quarantine & Isolation

Furthermore I’m talking about adults who have bought into the MAGA-COVID-19 conspiracies (this is my slow clapping at your mendacity “lab leak”, it was a “BioWeapon” and “we can bomb the shit out of any city in China because that’s our National Defense doctrine” ←which is complete Blue-QANON-sense malarkey. No nothing and I mean nothing in our Nation’s Defense Doctrine allows America to “bomb the shit and level any city in China” ← congrats Mr Blue-QANON with your unhinged conspiracy theories that are dripping in anti-Asian, anti-Semitic disinformation…

FTR the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has zero and I mean ZERO authority under our Constitution and/or DOD to authorize the bombing of any City in China. Apparently you are unaware of the: UN Charter, NATO, Treaties, Accords and Conventions and International Laws of War, much less the laws of America…yet you still tweet your disinformation, like “weaponizing hugs” ←and yet

• FM 6-27 MCTP 11-10C - United States Army

• U.S. Department of Defense’s Law of War Manual (updated circa Dec 2016)

• United States Department of State Treaties in Force (updated circa 2020)

And before we dive into the “meat” of today’s article —your obligatory saltwater therapy. Although on March 6, 2022 I did tell you that my Instagram account would effectively be my proof of life while I’m doing my civic duty.

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Before we really dive in. I’ve taken the liberty of curating a glossary. I know when I was on Twitter many of my followers appreciated a glossary, which typically started a thread. And that practice has, of course, that has now been carried over to Substack.

Glossary of acronyms:

• DOC = Department of Commerce

• BIS = (DOC) Bureau of Industry and Security ¹

• EAR = (DOC’s) Export Administration Regulations

• UST-S = US Treasury - Sanctions Programs and Country Information

• OFAC = Office of Foreign Assets Control

• REPO = UST-Russian Elites, Proxies, and Oligarchs

I would absolutely keep a sharp eye out for the joint Commerce REPO task force because as noted in the March 17th Press Release this is a multilateral (and multinational) effort by America and our Allies to bring Putin/Russia to its knees. Just to reiterate; 1) negotiations with the head of a Terrorist Organization’s Leader (you betcha yes I’m calling Putin the Serbian-Terrorist.), invariably turn out to be stall tactics by the aggressor, and/or 2) yes there’s a lot of digital soldiers, who attempt to sway the public, irrespective of the facts and/or evidence and that “going at it alone” — in a second Trump (hypothetically speaking) term —there is little doubt Trump would have pulled America out of NATO, would continued his naked aggression in doing Putin’s bidding towards anyo

collect and share information to take concrete actions, including sanctions, asset freezing, and civil and criminal asset seizure, and criminal prosecution” against Russian Oligarchs and elites.

…as it should. Incidentally do not conflate REPO or the current and ongoing investigation —because the newly launched REPO-TaskForce and KleptoCapture TaskForce are two separate entities. However did you manage to overlook the “Easter Egg”

Treasury took steps to boost cooperation and intelligence sharing. Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) today will join in a statement with counterparts in task force member countries and others to increase information sharing.

And the importance of keeping those symmetrical lines of Communications with our Allies, open. This remains critical component of attempting to hold Putin accountable.. While you are under zero obligation to agree with my previous assertions and casual observations —I unapologetically refer you to the following:

Other recent Important Enforcement Actions

I’m old enough to remember On March 3, 2022 the DOJ announced the newly unsealed indictment JOHN HANICK, a/k/a “Jack Hanick,”

• ANDREY MURAVIEV, a/k/a “Andrey Muravyov,” a -charging him with; illegal political contributions as a foreign national, and conspiring to make illegal political contributions as a foreign national in the names of straw donors. (See Muraviev superseding indictment) —according to the Superseding Indictment

It’s odd, it’s almost like some PITA Twitter User straight up asked: Siri when will the DOJ unseal ANDREY MURAVIEV indictment and will it be a superseding indictment? Apparently “YES IT WAS”…

on the DOC’s Twitter “engagements” or lack thereof —the DOC’s March 18, 2022 Tweet…

U.S. Commerce Dept. @CommerceGov

Commerce identifies commercial and private aircraft exported to Russia in apparent violation of U.S. export controls. More here:

commerce.govCommerce Department Identifies Commercial and Private Aircraft Exported to Russia in Apparent Violation of U.S. Export ControlsProviding Any Form of Service to These Aircraft is Also a Likely Violation of U.S. Law

…it appears this new(est) enforcement action against Russia, for its egregious War on Ukraine —and countless war crimes committed by Putin and the Russian Military. This observation was further confirmed after I ran a recent LexisNexis Search concerning these new enforcement actions. Meaning there are not that many mainstream news articles but it seems important.

Additionally you might benefit from this February 24, 2022 article. It is hard to believe that Russia’s grotesque violation of international law by willfully invading another sovereign country. And committing (possibly) thousands of war crimes.

To be clear Vladimir Putin is a murderous thug. He started this war. He bears sole responsibility. Putin is a global threat and I would not be surprised if an effort to have Russia labeled as a Terror State/Nation picks up steam. To say that Putin miscalculated Ukraine and Ukrainians is an understatement. Again it’s hard to believe that it’s been nearly a month and yet Ukraine and Ukrainians are showing the world what true patriotism

🇺🇦 слава україні 🇺🇦

..and now that I think you have the prerequisite facts, links and other original documents, let’s get into the March 18, 2022 DOC’s -recent BIS Enforcement Action -,shall we?

• March 17, 2022 UST — Russian Elites, Proxies, and Oligarchs Task Force Ministerial Joint Statement (REPO) ←best acronym ever see more here

• March 2, 2022 Attorney General Garland announced Task Force KleptoCapture —this is important read what I’ve redlined, which reads in part:

…experts in sanctions and export control enforcement, anticorruption, asset forfeiture, anti-money laundering, tax enforcement, national security investigations, and foreign evidence collection. It will leverage all the Department’s tools and authorities against efforts to evade or undermine the economic actions taken by the U.S. government in response to Russian military aggression.

…Targeting efforts to use cryptocurrency to evade U.S. sanctions, launder proceeds of foreign corruption, or evade U.S. responses to Russian military aggression…

Dept of Commerce grounds hundreds of planes...

At all relevant times, I will provide you with links because I understand how important facts are and how rampant the “fog of war” and disinformation & misinformation can exacerbate the “fog of war” —making it difficult for some to distinguish between facts v propaganda (and Russia’s hybrid warfare) —in late February 2022 I wrote about the aforementioned, should you be inclined, you can read more here

The DOC BIS publicly identified the owners and operators of the now (indefinitely) grounded planes which in include the following:

• Roman Abramovich, sorry about your $50M Colorado Mansion, and your $65K Luxury Jet tail sign LX-RAY, calls to investigate you using Chelsea Football for debt clearing of £1.5 billion… and your Super-Yacht, SOLARIS, and I’m pretty sure you’re glad you sold SUSSURRO (after you gave it to your ex-wife) but moving ECLIPSE — let’s roll the 2020 tape -Incidentally one day after Putin invaded Ukraine your company Eliris Holdings Ltd “handed $450m dividend from Russian mining group”

• Aeroflot, 33 planes

• Aviastar, 12 planes

• Azur Air, 23 planes

• Nordwind , 14 planes and

• Utair, 12 planes

The full list, as of March 18, 2022: BIS List of Commercial and Private Aircraft_Potential EAR Violations. Again (and not to belabor this fine point) —pursuant to pursuant to the General Prohibition Ten of the EAR —the DOC’s BIS has the authority —which reads in part:

…any subsequent actions taken with regard to any of the listed aircraft, including, but not limited to, refueling, maintenance, repair or the provision of spare parts or services may violate the EAR. Penalties for violating the EAR include substantial jail time, fines, loss of export privileges or other restrictions.

March 17, 2022: Russia-Belarus Savings Clause FAQs

February 24, 2022 U.S. Department of Commerce & Bureau of Industry and Security Russia and Belarus Rule Fact Sheet - which issued two “final rules” -see link to the Federal Register Vol. 87, No. 42 -Thursday, March 3, 2022 Rules and Regulations (Russia and Belarus)

• The first rule, “Implementation of Sanctions Against Russia Under the Export Administration Regulations (EAR),” (Russia Sanctions rule) which became effective on February 24, 2022, implements new Russia license requirements and licensing policies to protect U.S. national security and foreign policy interests. 

• The second rule, “Imposition of Sanctions Against Belarus Under the Export Administration Regulations,” (Belarus Sanctions rule) which was effective on March 2, 2022, implements new Belarus license requirements and licensing policies, also to protect U.S. national security and foreign policy interests. 

And as further explained by DOC’s Deputy Secretary of Commerce Don Graves, via this statement on Twitter and later expounded via the following statement from Deputy Secretary of Commerce Don Graves, explaining the rationale behind the department’s action:

The actions we have taken to date have isolated Russia and Belarus from the global economy, and I hope that today’s action brings that fact home to the Russian businesses and oligarchs that seek to continue their operations, We are working with our allies and partners to ensure that Russia and Belarus understand that our actions aren’t idle words or dead letters on the page. They have real teeth and as Putin’s vicious war continues, they will continue to bite harder on the Russian and Belarusian economies.

Deputy Secretary Don Graves @DepSecGraves

Export controls and sanctions put in place by the U.S. and our allies & partners have real teeth, and as Putin’s vicious war continues, they will bite harder on the Russian and Belarusian economies including key sectors like aviation. More here:

commerce.govCommerce Department Identifies Commercial and Private Aircraft Exported to Russia in Apparent Violation of U.S. Export ControlsProviding Any Form of Service to These Aircraft is Also a Likely Violation of U.S. Law

In the March 18, 2022 (I would actually bookmark this DOC-BIS link) the following is pretty important and it tightly worded statement, which reads in part…

…BIS has imposed controls on a range of items subject to the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) that did not previously require export licenses when destined for Russia.  BIS has also imposed similarly stringent controls on items subject to the EAR that are destined for Belarus.  Notably, both countries have been made subject to broad in-country transfer controls.

Previous DOC-BIS enforcement actions:

On February 24, 2022, the Biden Administration’s BIS imposed expansive and stringent controls on specific aviation-related items destined for Russia, including a new license requirement for specified aircraft or aircraft parts.

• The regulation will take effect when it is publicly released by the Federal Register on Thursday, February 24, 2022, and is available here. A fact sheet is available here. 

…implementing a sweeping series of stringent export controls that will severely restrict Russia’s access to technologies and other items that it needs to sustain its aggressive military capabilities. These controls primarily target Russia’s defense, aerospace, and maritime sectors and will cut off Russia’s access to vital technological inputs, atrophy key sectors of its industrial base, and undercut its strategic ambitions to exert influence on the world stage. February 24, 2022 Press Release

• March 2, 2022: Commerce Imposes Sweeping Export Restrictions on Belarus for Enabling Russia’s Further Invasion of Ukraine: https://go.usa.gov/xzZAz - see DOC’s imposition of stringent export controls on Belarus the stringent export controls…”in response to Belarus’s substantial enabling of Russia’s further invasion of Ukraine.”

• March 4, 2022: Commerce Takes Further Actions to Target Russian Strategic Industries and Punish Enablers of Aggression: https://go.usa.gov/xzZAS

• March 7, 2022: Commerce Announces Republic of Korea Exclusion Rule: https://go.usa.gov/xzk2C and Joint Statement of the Department of Commerce and Republic of Korea: https://go.usa.gov/xzk2E

• March 11, 2022: Commerce Restricts the Export of Luxury Goods to Russia and Belarus and to Russian and Belarusian Oligarchs and Malign Actors in Latest Response to Aggression Against Ukraine: https://go.usa.gov/xz5MP

To those who are still criticizing the Biden Administration’s response. Here’s my counter argument, which is naturally grounded in a bunch of facts, our President and his administration have; convinced our Allies to:

• February 21, 2022 - Letter to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate regarding the Blocking Property of Certain Persons and Prohibiting Certain Transactions with Respect to Continued Russian Efforts to Undermine the Sovereignty and Territorial Integrity of Ukraine

• February 21, 2022 - Executive Order on Blocking Property of Certain Persons and Prohibiting Certain Transactions With Respect to Continued Russian Efforts to Undermine the Sovereignty and Territorial Integrity of Ukraine

• February 24, 2022 - imposed crippling sanctions

• March 2, 2022 - The United States Continues to Impose Costs on Russia and Belarus for Putin’s War of Choice

• March 3, 2022 - The United States Continues to Target Russian Oligarchs Enabling Putin’s War of Choice

• March 8, 2022 - United States Bans Imports of Russian Oil, Liquefied Natural Gas, and Coal - and FACT SHEET: United States Bans Imports of Russian Oil, Liquefied Natural Gas, and Coal

• March 11, 2022 - Joint Statement by the G7 Announcing Further Economic Costs on Russia

  • United States, European Union, and G7 to Announce Further Economic Costs on Russia

That doesn’t even include the various White House read outs of President Biden’s telephone calls with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy —based on this White House Search it’s pretty clear the Biden Administration has leveraged President Biden’s foreign relations expertise and utilizing his known strength of bringing parties together

• March 11, 2022 Readout of President Biden’s Call with President Zelenskyy of Ukraine

• March 5, 2022 Readout of President Biden’s Call with President Zelenskyy of Ukraine

• March 3, 2022 Readout of President Biden’s Calls with President Zelenskyy of Ukraine and NNSA Administrator Hruby

• March 1, 2022 - Readout of President Biden’s Call with President Zelenskyy of Ukraine

• February 21, 2022 - Readout of President Biden’s Call with President Zelenskyy of Ukraine

• February 13, 2022 —Readout of President Biden’s Call with President Zelenskyy of Ukraine

Biden SOTU: We’re coming for your ill-begotten gains…

From my vantage point —President Biden’s March 1, 2022 State of the Union Address (see Biden White House Transcript) President Biden has built a solid coalition with our Allies and NATO Partners —and yes while diplomacy is the preferred method. But Russia

We’re joining with European Allies to find and seize their yachts, their luxury apartments, their private jets.  We’re coming for your ill-begotten gains.

And, tonight, I’m announcing that we will join our Allies in closing off American air space to all Russian flights, further isolating Russia and adding an additional squeeze on their economy.

And with that I think you are now quasi up to speed. In the interim I have a side project where I am attempting to untangle the complex web of shelf and shell companies used by Russian Oligarchs. Given the UST March 17, 2022 Russian Elites, Proxies, and Oligarchs Task Force Ministerial Joint Statement setting aside the materiality of the 17th’s press release, take a look at the signatories —that’s what you’d colloquially call: America & our Allies are on the same page.

And lastly to set your expectations, I won’t know if the Judge will order a mistrial because as of writing this, several other jurors, court staff are now infected with COVID-19 which is an update from my March 17, 2022 Instagram Post…

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In short if the Judge rules that the criminal case can go forward, unfortunately that means I’ll be required to finish my civic duty (whispers if this runs overtime to our previously scheduled return to our beach house, which is something we do every pre-high-season to get the house ready for renters then I’m pretty sure I’ll need someone to bail me out of jail) and will unlikely publishing on a daily basis. Conversely if the jury is dismissed then I’ll be publishing more regularly. Again I’m sorry if you thought I fell off the face of the Earth, but I did tell you on March 6, 2022 that I would be MIA and I figured most of my readers saw that disclosure. That way you would know why I’ve been “dark” for about two weeks….and yes of course I missed interacting with me readers too…

-Filey

1. Yes the Department of Commerce via its BIS and pursuant to the General Prohibition Ten of the EAR (see page 5 or below)