The U.K. delisted then replaced 78 entries on its Iran nuclear sanctions list as part of its decision to continue sanctions following Iran's failure to implement the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation announced. The actions took place on Oct. 18, the JCPOA Transition Day, when certain restrictions were set to expire. All entities, including 20 individuals and 58 individuals, remain subject to an asset freeze.

China and Serbia signed a free trade agreement on Oct. 17, China's Ministry of Commerce announced, according to an unofficial translation. The deal marks the first of its kind between China and a Central and Eastern European country, the ministry said, touting the agreement's importance for its Belt and Road Initiative. The deal will allow both countries to achieve a "high level of mutual openness" and establish a more "preferential, convenient, transparent and stable business environment," the ministry said.

The U.K. Solicitors Regulation Authority released its annual Anti-Money Laundering report for 2022-23, covering the agency's role in addressing money laundering and terrorism financing, the role of private parties, enforcement activity, how to report suspicious activity, sanctions, case studies and risk assessments.

The European Parliament's Internal Market and International Trade committees adopted a draft regulation that would provide a framework for investigating the use of forced labor in global supply chains and bans all goods using forced labor, the parliament announced. If the investigation of a company reveals the use of forced labor, the European Parliament said, "all import and export of the related goods would be halted at the EU's borders and companies would also have to withdraw goods that have already reached the EU market." Goods that had reached the market would be "donated, recycled or destroyed."

The European Council moved to maintain its nuclear nonproliferation sanctions regime against Iran, the council announced. The EU reviewed the sanctions as required under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action and ultimately found that since Iran had not fulfilled its commitments under the deal, the restrictions were still required, the council said Oct. 17. The decision follows a similar decision from the U.N. Security Council. The sanctions cover individuals and entities engaged in ballistic or nuclear missile activities or affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Certain sectoral sanctions are also a part of the package.

The German government is establishing a new agency to combat "internationally organized financial crime," dubbed the Federal Office to Combat Financial Crime, according to an unofficial translation. The agency will be an amalgamation of various different agencies' expertise, including analysis from the Financial Intelligence Unit, criminal investigations and supervision. The agency is expected to be established in 2024 and operational in 2025. The mandate of the agency will be to crack down on illegal financial flows via money laundering and sanctions evasion.

The European Parliament on Oct. 17 adopted new fisheries control rules requiring all EU fishing vessels to be monitored and their catches to be electronically reported. The measures are meant to establish "full traceability" under the EU's new fisheries control system and were adopted on a 438-146 vote, with 40 abstentions.

The U.K.'s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation on Oct. 13 expanded its general sanctions license covering payments to utility companies for gas and electricity by sanctioned parties who own or rent in the U.K. Originally set to expire on Oct. 16, the license no longer has an expiry date, the agency said. Additionally, the agency amended the license to allow a person to make permitted payments for or on behalf of a designated party.

A U.K. appeals court last week granted an injunction blocking a Gazprom subsidiary from suing its lenders in a Russian court over an abandoned gas project. The England and Wales Court of Appeal said it was the proper place to bring RusChemAlliance's claim against Germany-based Deutsche Bank, adding that there was no good reason not to impose the injunction.

The EU's top trade official, Valdis Dombrovskis, said EU and U.S. negotiators haven't given up on their Oct. 31 deadline to address both non-market overcapacity in steel and aluminum and ways to privilege trade in cleaner metals.