The U.K. on March 11 amended the entry for the North Korean Ministry of National Defense under the North Korea sanctions regime, the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation announced. OFSI noted that the ministry's name changed from the Ministry of the People's Armed Forces to the Ministry of National Defense.

The U.K. on March 8 announced it has extended the deadline for providing additional attestations or itemized ancillary costs under its Russian oil services ban from 28 to 30 days. The change was included as part of the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation's guidance on the maritime services ban and oil price cap. Under this guidance, OFSI said its attestation process requires different players in the oil supply chain to provide different levels of evidence that the oil they are trading is below the price cap.

Switzerland sanctioned six people and one entity on March 4 for their role in threatening the sovereignty of Moldova, following an EU action listing the same parties. The listed entity is Scutul Poporului, the paramilitary group accused of destabilizing Moldova through violent protests. The individuals are Russian intelligence officers, leaders of Scutul Poporului, Moldovan media executives and political figures.

The German Federal Prosecutor's Office filed charges last month against a German national and a Russian national for illicitly exporting drone parts to Russia, the office announced March 5, according to an unofficial translation.

The European General Court in a pair of decisions on March 6 rejected challenges to the EU's restrictions on wood and iron and steel products from Belarus. The court, in virtually identical opinions, rejected a trio of claims from Belarusian wood company AAT Mostovdrev and iron and steel company AAT Byelorussian Steel Works challenging the European Council's reasons for imposing the restrictions and infringement of the right to "effective judicial protection," alleged failure to observe the "principle of equal treatment," and imposition of measures disproportionately affecting the wood and iron and steel industries.

If the EU can’t agree to new corporate supply chain due diligence rules, European companies will instead face a growing, complex patchwork of national due diligence laws that will strain their compliance departments, leaders of two Dutch nonprofits said in an opinion piece this week for the Business and Human Rights Resource Center.

Switzerland implemented the EU's 13th sanctions package on Russia, the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research announced March 1. Switzerland levied sanctions on an additional 106 individuals and 88 entities, as the EU did in late February (see 2402230020). The European nation also imposed additional trade sanctions on Russia, adding 27 entities to the export ban on dual-use goods and goods that may enhance Russia's military.

The U.K.'s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation on March 4 published a trade and export guide on doing business in Iran to support "sanctions-compliant trade" with the country. The guidance outlines export opportunities in the agriculture, healthcare, and food and drink industries along with the risks of doing business in Iran and the Iranian legal system. OFSI also summarized its current sanctions on Iran, which include trade sanctions on military goods, nuclear and missile-related goods and more.

The U.K. this week removed sanctions from Igor Viktorovich Makarov, who was originally designated for his ties to companies in Russia’s energy sector. The U.K.’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation said Makarov was a director or involved with Reywood Holdings Limited (formerly ARETI International Group), Vikay Industrial Limited and Selaco Limited, all of which do business “in a sector of strategic significance to the Government of Russia.” OFSI didn’t say why it delisted Makarov.

The U.K. corrected one entry under its Russia sanctions regime and one under its ISIL (Da'esh) and al-Qaida restrictions list, in a pair of March 1 notices. Under the Russia regime, the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation corrected the national identification number for Vladimir Vladimirovich Mikheychik, general director of 224th Flight Unit State Airlines. Under the ISIL regime, OFSI added the U.N. reference number for Khatiba Al-Tawhid Wal-Jihad (KTJ), a terrorist organization under the Al-Nusrah Front for the People of the Levant.