Bureau of Industry and Security - Export Enforcement
By prioritizing its enforcement mission, BIS Export Enforcement has evolved over the past nearly 40 years into a sophisticated law enforcement agency with criminal investigators, enforcement analysts, and compliance specialists who are singularly focused on export and antiboycott enforcement, and work closely together with licensing officers within a single bureau of the government. It consists of the Office of Export Enforcement (OEE), the Office of Enforcement Analysis (OEA), and the Office of Antiboycott Compliance (OAC).
BIS Export Enforcement protects and promotes U.S. national security, foreign policy, and economic interests by: investigating export and antiboycott violations; interdicting illegal exports; conducting end-use checks; assisting parties to understand and comply with the antiboycott regulations; helping companies to improve export compliance practices and to identify suspicious inquiries; supporting the licensing process by evaluating the bona fides of transaction parties; aggressively pursuing violators of export control and antiboycott regulations and initiating criminal prosecution or administrative enforcement actions; promoting U.S. strategic technology leadership; and partnering with counterparts throughout the U.S. government.
Enforcement Actions
United States Obtains Warrant For Seizure Of Airplane Of Sanctioned Russian Oligarch Andrei Skoch Worth Over $90 Million;
Press Release
August 09, 2022
BIS Issues Charging Letter Against Chinese Company Far East Cable For Violating U.S. Export Controls Related To Shipments To Iran;
Press Release
August 08, 2022
BIS Takes Enforcement Action Against Venezuela Cargo Airline For Violation of U.S. Export Controls;
Press Release
August 02, 2022
Commerce Department Identifies First Foreign-Produced Commercial Aircraft Exported to Russia in Apparent Violation of U.S. Export Controls;
Press Release
August 02, 2022
First Non-Monetary Administrative Resolution Reached Under New Enforcement Policies
Press Release
August 01, 2022
Speeches
- Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement Matthew S. Axelrod Remarks at BIS’s 2022 Update Conference on Export Controls and Policy, June 30, 2022
- Remarks as Prepared for Delivery by Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement Matthew S. Axelrod at the National Association of College and University Attorneys 2022 Annual Conference, June 28, 2022
- Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement Axelrod Delivers Remarks to the Society for International Affairs 2022 Spring Virtual Advanced Conference on Export Controls and International Politics, May 16, 2022
- Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Enforcement Matthew S. Axelrod Remarks to the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America, Illinois Division, on Enforcement Actions to Disrupt Russia's Invasion of Ukraine, April 21, 2022
Russia - Belarus Resources
In response to the Russian Federation’s (Russia’s) invasion of Ukraine, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has taken swift and severe action to impose stringent export controls on Russia. These restrictions have also been applied to Belarus in response to its substantial enabling of Russia’s invasion.
- For a compendium of BIS action related to the conflict in Ukraine, click here
- Current BIS List of Commercial and Private Aircraft in potential violation of the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) - Full List As of June 24, 2022: BIS List of Commercial and Private Aircraft_Potential EAR Violations.pdf
Enforcement Resources
Effective implementation of the EAR is a shared responsibility, and BIS’s Export Enforcement stands ready to educate and support U.S. exporters and other stakeholders in ensuring compliance and where necessary employing its law enforcement authorities to address illicit activities.
