Canada, Germany and the Netherlands released a joint advisory this week to give their companies guidance on how they can identify and report suspected Russian sanctions and export control evasion. The advisory, issued by the financial intelligence units of each country, includes a list of red flags, suggestions for customer due diligence and various case examples of Russian companies trying to evade sanctions.
Former Bureau of Industry and Security chief counsel Opher Shweiki, who left the agency earlier this month (see 2402140065), joined Akin Gump as a partner in its Washington office, the firm announced Feb. 20. Akin said Shweiki will add “further depth” to its export controls, sanctions, national security and global investigations team.
The European Council on Feb. 19 introduced a humanitarian sanctions exception across its "restrictive measures to combat terrorism" for a 12-month period. Under the exemption, organizations and agencies "certified as humanitarian partners of the EU or its member states" can "engage in transactions with listed individuals and entities" without prior authorization to deliver humanitarian aid or support other activities that help people meet their "basic human needs," the council said. The measure brings the EU's sanctions framework in line with the U.N.'s humanitarian carve-out, the council said.
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.