The U.K. amended 195 entries under its Russia sanctions regime, still subjecting the entries to an asset freeze, the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation announced. It also corrected the listings for Oleg Vladimirovich Onopko and Alexandra Alexandrovna Usacheva. The 195 amended entries were for individuals who were listed under the sanctions regime without any explanation as to their position in Russian society. The amendments add this information, making it clear that the individuals are Russian politicians and members of the military.
A key U.S. national security official who oversees certain U.S. sanctions actions is planning to take an extended leave of absence from the White House, The Washington Post reported April 26. Daleep Singh, a deputy national security adviser who has helped to lead the administration's sanctions response to Russia, will be away from the role due to family reasons, the report said. The White House is reportedly still determining how to fill Singh’s role. A White House spokesperson didn’t comment.
The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control announced two new Ukraine-/Russia-related general licenses. Ukraine General Licenses 13R and 15L authorize divestment of, and transferring assets from, the GAZ Group to non-U.S. persons and the winding down of operations with GAZ Group by May 25.
The EU in a series of five notices announced the alignment of certain non-EU European countries with the bloc's recent sanctions moves on Russian and Belarus. North Macedonia, Montenegro, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Ukraine and Georgia agreed to also impose the humanitarian exceptions the EU had implemented for its sectoral sanctions for the provision of goods in Ukraine and Ukraine's Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on April 22 updated the entry for North Korean cyber-criminal group Lazarus Group. OFAC updated the Lazarus Group entry to include "three additional virtual currency wallet addresses" linked to the entity, an agency spokesperson said April 22. "Identification of these wallets will make clear to other VC actors that by transacting with them, they risk exposure to U.S. sanctions," the spokesperson said.
The EU added new names to its Russian and North Korean sanctions regimes. Under the EU's sanctions regime relating to the Russian annexation of Crimea, the European Council April 21 added businessmen Serhiy Vitaliyovich Kurchenko and Yevgeniy Viktorovich Prigozhin to its list of individuals subject to a travel ban and asset freeze. Kurchenko took control of various metallurgical, chemical and energy plants in the separatist-held areas of Crimea. Prigozhin founded and serves as the unofficial leader of the Russian-based mercenary entity the Wagner Group, the council said.
Although EU export controls and sanctions on Russia don’t necessarily apply to Chinese-based subsidiaries of EU companies, European businesses should keep in mind that they can’t use their Chinese business to circumvent the restrictions, law firm CMS said in an April 21alert. Chinese subsidies are “incorporated under Chinese law” and “not, in principle, bound by the measures,” but their EU parent companies can’t use them to evade any “obligations that apply to the EU parent company,” the firm said. This includes “delegating to them decisions which run counter to the sanctions, or by approving such decisions by the Chinese subsidiary.”
Australia on April 22 announced another round of sanctions against Russia, designating 147 more people for Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. The sanctions target 144 Russian senators, two daughters of President Vladimir Putin and one daughter of Foreign Minister Sergei Viktorovich Lavrov. Australia said it now imposes sanctions on nearly 750 people and entities for Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control is seeking comments on an information collection related to the agency’s Application for the Release of Blocked Funds. The application, which is available electronically on OFAC’s website, “provides a standardized method of application” for industry and eliminates the “need for applicants to write lengthy letters to OFAC,” the agency said. Comments are due June 21.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control is seeking public comments on an information collection related to the provision of travel and courier services to Cuba. Comments are due June 21.