|
The Morning Risk Report: U.S. Prepares Sanctions Against Hezbollah’s Allies in Lebanon
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Lebanese listening to a televised speech of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah at a cafe in Beirut on Aug. 7. PHOTO: MARWAN NAAMANI/ZUMA PRESS
|
|
|
Good morning. The Trump administration is preparing to impose anticorruption sanctions against prominent Lebanese politicians and businessmen in an effort to weaken Hezbollah’s influence in the aftermath of last week’s explosion in Beirut’s port, according to U.S. officials and others familiar with the plans.
The blast, which killed at least 160 people and injured thousands more, has accelerated efforts in Washington to blacklist Lebanese leaders aligned with Hezbollah, the country’s dominant political and military force, according to these people.
[Continued below…]
|
|
|
U.S. officials see an opportunity to drive a wedge between Hezbollah and its allies as part of a broader effort to contain the Shiite force backed by Tehran. Hezbollah has been part of Lebanese coalition governments for more than a decade and is the region’s most potent threat to Israel, which has bombed the group’s forces in Syria and Lebanon to prevent it from amassing advanced missiles.
President Trump has used sanctions as a central tool in his “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran. Now some in his administration want to see the White House turn the screws in Lebanon. “I don’t see how you can react to this kind of event with anything other than ‘maximum pressure,’ ” said one U.S. official.
|
|
|
|
From Risk & Compliance Journal
|
|
|
|
The Treasury Department said a former employee of the U.S. Army stationed at the U.S. Embassy in Bogotá, Colombia, provided gifts to an individual designated by the U.S. as a narcotics trafficker. PHOTO: MARIANA GREIF/BLOOMBERG NEWS
|
|
|
A former employee of the U.S. Army agreed to a settlement with the U.S. Treasury Department to resolve allegations that the employee provided gifts to an individual designated by the U.S. as a narcotics trafficker, the department’s first settlement against an individual in several years.
While the settlement, disclosed this week by the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, involved a government employee, it stands as a reminder that the sanctions watchdog will still pursue cases against individuals, including corporate executives, white-collar defense lawyers tell Risk & Compliance Journal’s Dylan Tokar.
|
|
|
|
Cosmetics company Revlon faces a lawsuit alleging it siphoned off valuable intellectual property that had been pledged to investors. PHOTO: JUSTIN SULLIVAN/GETTY IMAGES
|
|
|
Revlon faces a lawsuit alleging the cosmetics company siphoned off valuable intellectual property that had been pledged to investors, depriving them of the collateral they bargained for. The lawsuit, filed by loan agent UMB Bank NA, accused the cosmetics maker of wrongfully shifting the American Crew, Elizabeth Arden and Almay brands out of the reach of investors that lent the company $1.8 billion in 2016.
The lawsuit said Revlon has been able to borrow rescue financing only by taking away some of the brand assets securing the 2016 loan and pledging them as collateral to other lenders including Ares Management Corp. Revlon also issued $65 million in revolving loans to rig a lender vote in favor of one of the restructuring maneuvers, according to the complaint.
|
|
|
-
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called on authorities in Belarus to protect protesters and give the country’s citizens more political freedom, the latest pressure on a regime that might now face new sanctions from the neighboring European Union. On Tuesday, EU foreign-policy chief Josep Borrell criticized authorities in Minsk, the Belarusian capital, for “disproportionate and unacceptable violence” and said the bloc was considering “taking measures against those responsible for the observed violence, unjustified arrests and falsification of election results.”
-
U.S. agriculture officials said they are working with their counterparts in China to determine who is sending mysterious seed packages to U.S. residents and to stop future shipments. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a recorded radio broadcast released Wednesday that China is helping to identify the senders of the seeds, and that the agency knows the names of companies behind the shipments. The USDA also said China’s postal service is cooperating with the investigation.
-
A Los Angeles businessman whose tip led the government to unravel the massive Operation Varsity Blues college-admissions scam was sentenced to 12 months in prison for his role in a separate securities-fraud case.
-
Federal regulators warned that NJ Transit is at risk of missing a federally imposed deadline to install a train safety system by the end of the year.
|
|
|
|
The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board is trying to capture more of the effects of Covid-19 in its reviews. PHOTO: PCAOB
|
|
|
The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board is extending its window for inspections to assess the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on audit quality. The accounting watchdog plans to review a sample of U.S. audits of public companies whose fiscal year ended June 30, in addition to a batch of businesses with March 31 year-ends, PCAOB board member Duane DesParte said this week.
This year’s inspection window will cover five quarters instead of four, the PCAOB said. In addition to the year-end audits, inspectors will review some audits of quarterly financial statements. The watchdog expects its reviews to continue into the fall and to report on its findings in the first half of 2021, according to a spokeswoman.
|
|
|
|
Israeli soldiers during an exercise last week in the Israel-occupied Golan Heights, near the disputed border between Syria and Israel. PHOTO: XINHUA/ZUMA PRESS
|
|
|
Israel said it thwarted a North Korean cyber group’s attempt to steal sensitive information from leading defense companies in the country. Israel’s Defense Ministry identified the group as Lazarus and said it is backed by a foreign country, though it didn’t name North Korea.
Lazarus was sanctioned by the U.S. last year. The U.S. said the state-sponsored North Korean group has a history of high-profile global hacking attempts aimed at foreign businesses, government agencies, financial-services infrastructure, private corporations and the defense industry.
Israel’s Defense Ministry said members of Lazarus built fake profiles on LinkedIn to contact employees of Israel’s leading defense companies and offer them jobs. In the process of sending job offers, members of the group tried to compromise computers of employees, access their corporate networks and obtain sensitive security information. The North Korean hackers also tried to hack companies’ official websites, the ministry said.
|
|
|
|
Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren says easing restrictions prematurely hurt both the economy and public health down the road. PHOTO: STEVEN SENNE/ASSOCIATED PRESS
|
|
|
Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren said a recent slowdown in U.S. economic activity is likely to persist because of difficulties states have encountered in suppressing the coronavirus pandemic.
“Limited or inconsistent efforts by states to control the virus based on public health guidance are not only placing citizens at unnecessary risk of severe illness and possible death but are also likely to prolong the economic downturn,” Mr. Rosengren said Wednesday in remarks prepared for delivery online to the South Shore Chamber of Commerce in Massachusetts.
Meanwhile, an extra $300 a week in federal unemployment benefits is likely to take a couple of weeks to reach workers and funding could be exhausted a month and a half later, a senior Labor Department official said.
|
|
|
|
Phillips 66 plans to convert its San Francisco-area oil refinery to a plant largely producing renewable diesel. PHOTO: PHILLIPS 66
|
|
|
U.S. fuel makers see economic opportunity in getting greener as consumption remains depressed during the coronavirus pandemic and the prospect of more government regulations increases.
The coronavirus pandemic has crushed demand for fuels such as gasoline and jet fuel, and many expect global oil consumption to remain depressed for years. But appetite for so-called renewable fuel is poised to grow because of government regulations in places such as California that are designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
|
|
|
|
Facebook is examining potential product updates related to voting. PHOTO: GABBY JONES/BLOOMBERG NEWS
|
|
|
Facebook, Google and Twitter have discussed with federal officials how the social-media platforms can prevent the spread of misinformation in the days before and after the election, after the U.S. intelligence community warned of foreign interference and President Trump called the vote’s integrity into question.
The conversations are designed to address problems that may arise from across the political spectrum and have included the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Homeland Security and intelligence agencies, according to people familiar with the matter.
|
|
|
|
A rendering of the custom-built REI campus in Bellevue, Wash., which was slated to open this summer. PHOTO: NBBJ
|
|
|
Recreational Equipment Inc. is looking to sell its custom-made new headquarters and allow employees to work from home or other offices, the latest sign that the pandemic is driving companies to ditch central offices to raise cash.
The retailer was poised to open the new Seattle-area headquarters this summer after creating a unique building that reflected the company’s outdoorsy image and could serve as a way to recruit new employees. Instead of a single headquarters, REI will open a number of smaller offices and allow employees to work remotely, the company said. Employees have been working from home since March.
|
|
|
|
|
|