The U.S. transferred nearly $500,000 in "forfeited Russian funds" to Estonia in an attempt to provide aid to Ukraine, DOJ announced on Feb. 17. The move, announced at the Munich Security Conference by Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco and Estonian Secretary General Tonis Saar, is "the first of its kind from the United States to a foreign ally for the express purpose of assisting Ukraine," DOJ said.
A bipartisan group of 11 House members urged the Biden administration on Feb. 16 to impose Global Magnitsky Act sanctions on seven Chinese companies for allegedly using Uyghur forced labor to provide seafood to U.S. markets.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned two Russian nationals for their ties to LockBit, a Russia-based ransomware group. The designations target Ivan Gennadievich Kondratiev, a LockBit affiliate and leader of the National Hazard Society, a LockBit affiliate sub-group; and Artur Sungatov, a Lockbit ransomware group affiliate who has “actively engaged in LockBit ransomware attacks,” OFAC said.
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The EU and the U.S. should try to reach a more “concrete” set of outcomes before the next Trade and Technology Council meeting in April and may discuss making the body permanent, said Valdis Dombrovskis, the EU’s top trade official. He said the two sides are “fleshing out new ideas” on supply chain, export controls and investment screening issues, and they want to make progress before the current European Commission term ends in October and before the upcoming U.S. presidential election.
The U.S. will announce "major" new sanctions against Russia this week, President Joe Biden told reporters Feb. 20 before leaving on a campaign trip. He said his administration will be releasing new sanctions on Russia as part of a package that will be announced Feb. 23.
The countries behind the Russian oil price cap on Feb. 16 released changes to the cap's attestation model in a bid to "strengthen the compliance regime and reduce routes for circumvention," the U.K.'s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation announced. The changes require per-voyage attestations and itemized ancillary cost information on request.
Taiwan added 77 items to its list of goods subject to export controls on Russia and Belarus, the Ministry of Economic Affairs announced, according to an unofficial translation. The additional export controls take effect March 8 and are imposed to prevent the Russian military from using Taiwan's high-tech products in Ukraine. The items include milling and grinding machines, lathes and turning machines and machining centers.
The House of Representatives voted 389-32 on Feb. 14 to pass a bill that would expand sanctions on Syria's Bashar Assad regime.
The Biden administration is considering “a whole number of options” to respond to the reported death in prison of Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny, President Joe Biden told reporters on Feb. 16 when asked if he is looking at increasing sanctions on Russia.