Two Republican senators took to the Senate floor this week to reiterate their support for increasing sanctions on Russia to pressure it to end its war against Ukraine.
The State Department’s recently published spring 2025 regulatory agenda previews several export control rules that the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls is hoping to issue this year, including revisions to the U.S. Munitions List, updates to the definition for defense services, updates to its AUKUS exemption, and more.
Vanquis Bank Limited, the British bank that the U.K. said failed to stop a newly sanctioned person from withdrawing money from their account (see 2509080008), has "taken steps to strengthen our screening processes to prevent similar incidents" in the future, a spokesperson said this week. The spokesperson also stressed that the U.K. government didn't impose a fine against the bank, the issue was self-reported, and the bank cooperated with the government's investigation.
The European Commission issued new guidance this week to clarify how its Russia-related sanctions apply to parties and entities “acting on behalf or at the direction of” a sanctioned Russian party. New FAQ 17 says the commission may consider that an EU subsidiary is acting on behalf of a Russian parent company if the subsidiary obtains approvals from the parent company, carries out “instructions given directly or indirectly” by the parent company, or appoints or dismisses any “authorised representatives” associated with the company. The EU subsidiary may need to put in place “a public trusteeship or a similar firewall measure” to prevent any sanctions violations, the guidance said.
The EU this week updated its dual-use export control list to align it with decisions taken by the multilateral Wassenaar Arrangement, Missile Technology Control Regime, Australia Group and Nuclear Supplier Group in 2024. The update "also includes commitments that Member States have accepted, as members of the Wassenaar Arrangement, to control additional items uniformly," the European Commission said.
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, which issued an interim final rule in March to revise its implementation of the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), is reviewing public comments on it to help write a final rule, Director Andrea Gacki said Sept. 9.
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U.S. sanctions and export controls have had only a limited impact on Russia’s ability to raise revenue and obtain technology for its war machine, as Moscow has taken various steps to get around American restrictions, the Government Accountability Office said in a report released Sept. 8.
Anne Fisher, a former official with the Bureau of Industry and Security's chief counsel office, has joined Hogan Lovells' international trade and investment practice, the firm said. Fisher, who left BIS in July after first joining in October 2022, will advise on U.S. export control laws, economic sanctions, customs, foreign investment and other issues. She was at Hogan Lovells before going to BIS.
The U.S. is prepared to increase pressure on Russia through coordinated sanctions with the EU, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Sept. 7 on NBC's "Meet the Press." Bessent said that if the EU and the U.S. "can come in, do more sanctions, secondary tariffs on the countries that buy Russian oil," then the Russian economy "will be in full collapse. And that will bring President [Vladimir] Putin to the table." His comments come after what he described as a "very productive" phone call with the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. He said that the EU and the U.S. are in a race between how long the Ukrainian military can "hold up, versus how long can the Russian economy hold up."