U.S. Department of Commerce: “Georgia Is One of the Countries Through Which Restricted Exports Have Passed Through to Russia”
Opposition party “Droa” lawmaker Elene Khoshtaria brought attention to a report from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and the U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) after highlighting the results in a briefing. According to the report, Georgia was one of the nations through which limited shipments to Russia or Belarus were channelled. BIS emphasised the importance of commodities that can bolster Belarus' and Russia's military and defence capabilities. These include GPS systems, antennas, and aircraft equipment, among others.
"In some instances, controlled U.S. items may be legally exported to these and other jurisdictions as inputs for the production of other finished goods," the report noted. "However, further export to Russia or Belarus of those finished products and goods, potentially through additional transhipment points, may be prohibited," report added.
According to the report, BIS monitors the situation in light of past transhipment trends in order to detect any changes. Despite the fact that the list does not include all possible transhipment locations, it has been found that it can aid in the risk-based screening of export-related financial activities.