Malta's Sanctions Monitoring Board said that Dubai-based virtual casino company ArabMillionaire Limited violated sanctions compliance requirements, though the national authority didn't provide details about the nature of the violation or the extent of the penalty. The board invoked Article 17(6) of the National Interest (Enabling Powers) Act, which requires companies to routinely check sanctions lists and have internal controls in place to ensure sanctions compliance.
An EU-New Zealand trade agreement that eliminates tariffs on EU goods such as "pig meat, wine and sparkling wine, chocolate, sugar confectionary and biscuits," entered into force May 1, the European Commission announced. Under the deal, "sensitive EU agricultural products such as beef, sheepmeat and dairy products are protected with carefully designed tariff rate quotas." EU investors will also receive nondiscriminatory treatment in New Zealand and EU companies will receive greater access to New Zealand procurement contracts, the commission said.
Brooklyn, New York, resident Nikolay Grigorev pleaded guilty April 30 for his role in a scheme to illicitly export electronic components from the U.S. to companies linked to the Russian military, DOJ announced.
The U.K. on April 30 added three individuals to its global anti-corruption sanctions regime, according to the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation. Anita Annet Among, speaker of parliament of Uganda; Mary Goretti Kitutu, former Ugandan minister for Karamoja affairs; and Agnes Nandutu, former state minister for Karamoja Affairs in Uganda, are each subject to an asset freeze.
The EU and Japan on April 30 held their second Digital Partnership Council, agreeing on "new deliverables to further cooperate on core digital technologies," including artificial intelligence, 5G, 6G, semiconductors, high performance computing (HPC) and quantum technology, the European Commission announced.
The EU's directive regarding the criminalization of sanctions violations will take effect May 19. The bloc added the directive to its official journal, saying member states have 12 months to incorporate the policies into their internal rules. The new rules, among other things, set minimum penalties for sanctions violations and define sanctions violations (see 2404150010).
Trade lawyers said that recent legislation expanding the statute of limitations on sanctions violations from five to 10 years comes with clear expectations: costlier and longer sanctions investigations.
Australia, Japan and Singapore, the co-convenors of the e-commerce negotiations at the World Trade Organization, said during their April 22-25 talks that work will shift to the "final decision-making phase" during which members will focus on "domestic consultations and conduct political outreach to try to close the gaps on remaining issues," the WTO said.
The U.K. added a general license under its Russia and Belarus sanctions regime allowing legal service providers to receive and send payments to and from or on behalf of a sanctioned party. Sanctioned parties are likewise allowed to "pay professional legal fees, Counsel's fees, and/or Expenses to a Law Firm, a Legal Adviser, Counsel or a provider of Expenses for Legal Services which have been provided to that" sanctioned party. The legal fees may not exceed 1 million British pounds "per Law Firm" for the duration of the license, which ends Oct. 28.
The U.K. on April 29 amended the entry for Sanaullah Ghafari under its ISIL (Da'esh) and al-Qaida sanctions regime, the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation announced. The listing was updated to reflect that Ghafari is the leader of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant - Khorasan.