The U.K. High Court of Justice on May 3 said funds are subject to sanctions when a party can prove that the funds are being "in fact controlled" by a sanctioned party, not when there's "only reasonable cause to suspect" they are controlled by a sanctioned party, according to the Global Sanctions blog.
The U.K. on May 8 amended one entry under its Russia sanctions regime, updating the listing for Said Mikhailovich Gutseriev. The amended listing now shows that Gutseriev worked as a director of various Russian financial services and energy extractive companies, which operate in "sectors of strategic significance to the Government of Russia."
Senate Foreign Relations Committee ranking member Jim Risch, R-Idaho, and House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas, urged President Joe Biden this week to reject his administration’s proposal to waive sanctions to allow French company Électricité de France (EDF) to work with Russia's state-owned nuclear energy company Rosatom.
The U.S., the U.K. and Australia this week sanctioned Russian national Dmitry Yuryevich Khoroshev, a leader of the Russia-based LockBit ransomware group, which the Office of Foreign Assets Control labeled “one of the most active ransomware groups in the world.”
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The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week removed the Swiss branch of Russia-headquartered bank Sberbank from the agency’s Sectoral Sanctions Identifications List, which lists entities operating in certain sanctioned sectors of the Russian economy. OFAC didn’t release more information.
Senate Democrats are urging the Treasury Department to quickly finalize a proposed rule that could make investment advisers subject to more sanctions-related compliance requirements, adding that the agency should also require advisers to follow rigorous due diligence requirements that currently apply to large banks. But financial industry organizations said Treasury should revise the proposal because investment advisers are already covered by existing anti-money laundering laws and aren’t the right target for new compliance guardrails.
The EU threatened to use its “full spectrum of measures,” including possible sanctions, against Russia for cyberattacks against European infrastructure, according to a statement of EU representatives released May 3 by the Council of the EU. The statement was released after Germany said Russia was behind a cyberattack against various email accounts of the German Social Democratic Party executive.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on May 3 removed several Russia-related entries from its Specially Designated Nationals List, including Malta- and Russia-based aircraft management company Emperor Aviation Ltd., which was designated in 2022 for providing luxury travel to a Russian government official (see 2211140018). OFAC also removed several aircraft owned by Emperor Aviation from the SDN List.
The U.K. Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation on May 1 published frequently asked questions regarding its sanctions regimes, which are meant to be "supplementary to, and not a replacement for, OFSI's primary guidance." The page includes 91 FAQs covering general sanctions questions, the restriction on Russia, the Russian oil services ban, Libya, general licensing, definitions and crown dependencies and overseas territories. Forty-four FAQs pertain specifically to the Russia sanctions.