The European Commission added to its sanctions FAQs for the Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts on April 18.

The Council of the EU on April 22 adopted a decision on concluding the Strategic Partnership Agreement with Japan, the council announced. The decision "clears the path, on the EU side, for the entry into force of the agreement" once both parties complete their internal procedures. The deal is the first bilateral framework agreement between the two entities, and it lays out a "framework for enhanced political and sectoral cooperation." The deal commits the parties to "defend a rules-based multilateral trading system having the World Trade Organization at its core" and implement sustainable development goals. The deal also establishes a dispute settlement procedure.

The Council of the EU on April 19 added four Israeli individuals and two entities in the West Bank and East Jerusalem to the EU Global Human Rights sanctions regime for their role in "serious human rights abuses against Palestinians." The entities are Lehava, a "radical right-wing Jewish supremacist group," and Hilltop Youth, a "radical youth group" with members known for conducting violent acts against "Palestinians and their villages in the West Bank," the council said. The sanctioned individuals are two Hilltop Youth leaders and two other individuals who have committed violent acts against Palestinians.

EU Advocate General Laila Medina last week said that the "authentication by a notary of a contract of sale of immovable property owned by a legal person established in Russia" isn't covered by the EU's sanctions provisions on Russia, "as long as the engagement in transactions is allowed for that person under that regulation and the authentication is not supplemented by legal advice."

The U.K. government called on businesses to fill out a survey to give the government a better sense of the private sector's and nongovernmental organizations' perception of U.K. sanctions and the "level of confidence" in businesses' understanding of the sanctions. The survey, put together by Deloitte, takes "30-45 minutes to complete" and is a "mix of multiple choice and free text questions." The U.K. government said it will use the data to "formulate recommendations" on how it can better support industry.

A group of European countries not in the EU aligned with a recent EU sanctions move under its restrictions regime to combat human rights abuses. Earlier this month, the Council of the EU introduced a humanitarian exemption to its sanctions regime. The countries of North Macedonia, Montenegro, Albania, Ukraine, Moldova, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway also imposed the decision, the council announced.

The EU on April 16 requested consultations with the U.K. under the EU-U.K. Trade and Cooperation Agreement's dispute settlement system pertaining to the U.K.'s ban on the fishing of sandeel, the European Commission announced.

The Ukraine High Anti-Corruption Court on April 10 upheld the Ministry of Justice's bid to impose sanctions and confiscate the assets of former Minister of Education and Science Dmytro Tabachnyk, according to an unofficial translation. The court noted that Tabachnyk is in the "temporarily occupied territories" and helps support the creation and functioning of the occupying administrations. The Ukrainian government sought to confiscate five land plots, a residential building, half a share of an apartment and monetary assets from the former minister. Ukraine's enforcement of its sanctions regime takes the form of asset freezes, the seizure of property and criminal sanctions, according to a blog post from global law firm Baker McKenzie. Ukraine passed legislation last year allowing for the "expropriation of property of" sanctioned parties.

The U.K. on April 16 amended the sanctions listing for one entity on its North Korea sanctions list, the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation announced. The entry for the National Aerospace Development Administration was updated to accurately reflect the entity's name, "National Aerospace Technology Administration."

The Cyprus Bar Association (CBA) last week raided a lawyer's lobbying firm offices as part of an investigation into "suspected fictitious transactions," Cyprus newspaper Phileleftheros reported. The investigation centered on Finsol, a firm that provides services to Santinomo, which reportedly holds shares in Intellexa AE -- an entity that's part of U.S.-sanctioned spyware firm Intellexa. The suspicious transactions began "shortly after US sanctions were imposed on entities of the Intellexa group," the newspaper's report said. A Greek lawyer registered with CBA owns Finsol. The CBA's compliance and oversight department is conducting the investigation and, upon its conclusion, will send a report to the association's administrative council. The council will decide whether "disciplinary measures will be taken or, more importantly, whether the case will be referred to the police for criminal investigation," Phileleftheros reported.