Seafood distributor American Eel Depot Corp. of Totowa, New Jersey, and eight of its employees were indicted by the DOJ Environment and Natural Resources Division for trafficking in large amounts of European eels, DOJ announced. April 29. The nine defendants are charged with smuggling, violating the Lacey Act, which bans trafficking in illegally possessed fish and wildlife, and conspiracy to violate the Endangered Species Act. Each defendant faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 or $500,000 for the American Eel Depot, or twice the financial gain or the financial loss to another, whichever is greater.

Alejandro Cao De Benos and Christopher Emms, citizens of Spain and the U.K., respectively, were charged in the Southern District of New York with conspiring to violate U.S. sanctions on North Korea to provide cryptocurrency and blockchain technology services to the North Korean state, DOJ announced April 25. The two are charged with aiding Virgil Griffith, who was sentenced April 12 for conspiring to violate sanctions on North Korea (see 2204130031).

Toll Group Holdings, the Australian international logistics company fined earlier this week for sanctions violations, takes "compliance seriously” and has “acted to keep this from happening again," managing director Thomas Knudsen said in an April 25 email. The company's $6.13 million settlement with the Office of Foreign Assets Control covered liability for nearly 3,000 violations of several U.S. sanctions programs, including illegal payments connected to sea, air and rail shipments through multiple highly sanctioned countries, including North Korea, Iran and Syria (see 2204250015).

The Bureau of Industry and Security revoked the export privileges of a Texas man after he illegally exported guns and ammunition to Mexico. Arnoldo Vidaurri was convicted March 29, 2019, after illegally exporting two Ruger LCP 380 pistols and 100 rounds of ammunition, BIS said April 20. Vidaurri was sentenced to three years in prison and a $100 fine. BIS denied his export privileges for five years from the date of conviction.

International waste management company Stericycle agreed to pay over $84 million to settle investigations by the U.S. and Brazil into Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations relating to bribes to Mexican, Argentinian and Brazilian officials, DOJ announced April 20. Stericycle entered into a three-year deferred prosecution agreement over a criminal case charging the company with two counts of conspiracy to violate the FCPA's anti-bribery provision and books and records provision.

Three Russian citizens -- legislator Aleksandr Babakov and two staff members, Aleksandr Vorobev and Mikhail Plisyuk -- were charged with conspiring to use a Russian agent in the U.S. without proper notification, violate U.S. sanctions and commit visa fraud, DOJ announced. The indictment is cited as being the work of Task Force KleptoCapture -- the U.S.'s interagency task force charged with enforcing recent sanctions action following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Xiaojian Tao and Yu Lang, residents of Helotes, Texas, were arrested for alleged export violations and their role in a scheme to defraud an unnamed research and development company, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Texas said. Tao is charged with one count each of illegal export of defense articles, illegally exporting commerce-controlled goods and making a false statement over the Export Control Reform Act. Both he and Yu are charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and nine counts of wire fraud, the U.S. Attorney's Office said April 12.

Andrew Adams, head of DOJ's "KleptoCapture" task force, charged with enforcing the deluge of Russia sanctions following the invasion of Ukraine, is targeting the personal assets of Vladimir Putin and his family, Adams told Bloomberg. Adams said this can be done by targeting individuals who have agreed to hold assets on his behalf.

Virgil Griffith, a U.S. citizen, was sentenced to 63 months in prison after pleading guilty to conspiring to aid North Korea in evading U.S. sanctions via cryptocurrency and blockchain technology, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York said. Griffith pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

Manual Dominquez, a resident of Laredo, Texas, was sentenced to 87 months in prison for possessing firearms as a convicted felon and attempting to smuggle those firearms into Mexico, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Texas said April 11. Dominquez was arrested after he took possession of two Barrett .50 caliber rifles, with the intent to eventually smuggle them into Mexico. The rifles were meant for members of the Cartel De Norte, the U.S. Attorney's Office said. Dominquez was previously convicted for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, precluding his possession of a firearm or ammunition.