The U.K. released two sanctions licenses on May 20 permitting parties to wind down their financial positions involving St. Petersburg Currency Exchange and non-bank credit organization Joint-Stock Company Petersburg Settlement Center and to pay insurance premiums to the State Corporation Deposit Insurance Agency. The St. Petersburg Currency Exchange license permits any party to wind down from transactions involving the exchange or the Joint-Stock Company Petersburg Settlement Center and expires on June 19, 2025. The State Corporation Deposit Insurance Agency license runs indefinitely but requires parties making such premium payments to keep accurate records of any activity taken under the license for a minimum of six years.
The U.K. on May 20 added 82 entries to its Russia sanctions regime and seven entries to its global human rights sanctions list. The additions to the Russia sanctions list include 20 individuals and 62 entities and cover dozens of financial services companies and their executives, along with Chinese entities Electronic Scientific Engineering, Innopolis, Shanghai New Chess Co. and Shanghai New Chess Int'l Logistics Co.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control is authorizing certain transactions related to the M.V. Tinos I, a vessel owned by sanctioned Iranian national and liquified petroleum gas magnate Seyed Asadoollah Emamjomeh (see 2504220032), while it's in the U.S.
The U.S. and Switzerland agreed this month to better share sanctions enforcement information, according to a memorandum of understanding released last week. The memorandum, signed by the Office of Foreign Assets Control and the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, said they "express their intention to share information related to the monitoring, enforcement, and promotion of compliance with sanctions measures in force on both sides."
The U.K.’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation emailed a reminder to industry this week about new sanctions reporting requirements for certain art dealers, real estate agents and insolvency practitioners. As of May 14, those people “are legally required to comply with relevant firms reporting obligations in the UK,” OFSI said, including reports about suspected sanctions violations.
The U.S. this week sanctioned two Hezbollah officials and two people who help the group receive money from overseas donors, which contribute a “significant portion of the terrorist group’s overall budget,” the Treasury Department said.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control issued a new general license that eliminates the expiration date for certain authorized transactions with the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, an international crude oil transportation project involving Russia, and the Tengizchevroil project, another oil venture involving Chevron and Kazakhstan. New General License 124 authorizes certain transactions with those projects that would normally be prohibited under a January determination that blocks the provision of U.S. petroleum services to parties in Russia (see 2501100027).
President Donald Trump this week renewed a national emergency authorizing certain sanctions related to Iraq. The White House said "obstacles to the orderly reconstruction" of peace, security and economic institutions in Iraq continue to threaten U.S. national security. The sanctions were renewed for another year from May 22.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned six people and 12 entities in Iran and China for helping Iran source the manufacturing of critical materials needed for the country's ballistic missile program, including carbon fiber.
The Council of the European Union on May 12 extended the sanctions against cyber-attacks threatening the EU for another year, until May 18, 2026. The council also extended the legal framework for the restrictions for three years, pushing them until May 18, 2028. The framework lets the EU impose targeted sanctions on individuals or entities involved in "cyber-attacks which cause a significant impact, and constitute an external threat to the EU or its member states," the council said. The measures currently apply to 17 people and four entities.