In 2021, IPVM covered PRC AI firm SenseTime's Treasury Department sanctions - which are supposed to ban US persons from investing in the firm - and how SenseTime's law firm helped it get around these sanctions.
Now, leading index fund provider FTSE Russell has confirmed that SenseTime "is not currently subject to US sanctions prohibiting US investors from holding shares", according to a letter it received from Treasury:
This caused SenseTime's stock to jump "as much as 21%" last Friday (January 27, 2023), MarketWatch reported. The stock has continued increasing since then, and is now up over 35% as of January 31st:
This is all based on a legal loophole exploited by SenseTime's New York law firm HHR where the Treasury Department sanctioned SenseTime Group Limited, its Hong Kong subsidiary, while the company which went public is SenseTime's Cayman Islands-based parent, SenseTime Group Inc. Treasury may end up updating its sanctions list of course, but this has not happened to date.
SenseTime also got around US technology sanctions implemented by the Commerce Department via a similar loophole, as IPVM covered: PRC SenseTime Uses Loophole To Avoid US Sanctions.