The Department of Commerce’s bureau of industry and security has added six institutions with ties to the Russian government to its entity list for their involvement in activities that pose a threat to U.S. national security, economy and foreign policy.
“BIS imposes a license review policy of a presumption of denial for these six entities. In addition, no license exceptions are available for exports, reexports, or transfers (in-country) to the persons being added to the Entity List in this rule,” according to a final rule posted Monday in Federal Register.
The bureau’s move seeks to complement the sanctions imposed by the Department of the Treasury’s office of foreign assets control in April on the six entities in compliance with an executive order meant to counter Russia’s harmful foreign activities, including election interference and cyberattacks.
The entities added to the list are Aktsionernoe Obshchestvo AST; Aktsionernoe Obshchestvo Pasit; Aktsionernoe Obshchestvo Pozitiv Teknolodzhiz; Federal State Autonomous Institution Military Innovative Technopolis Era; Federal State Autonomous Scientific Establishment Scientific Research Institute Specialized Security Computing Devices and Automation; and Obshchestvo S Ogranichennoi Otvetstvennostyu NEOBIT.
Reuters reported that four of the entities are information technology firms – Pasit, Neobit, Pozitiv Teknolodzhiz and AST. Era is a research center and technology park run by Russia’s defense ministry, while SVA is a Russian state-owned institution linked to malicious cyber activities.
