The Council of the European Union on June 30 renewed sanctions on Russia for an additional six months, pushing them to Jan. 31, 2026. The measures, first imposed in 2014 due to Russian attacks against Ukrainian sovereignty, currently consist of broad sectoral measures and efforts to combat sanctions circumvention. The measures also include a "ban on the import or transfer of seaborne crude oil and certain petroleum products from Russia to the EU."
The Office of Foreign Assets Control issued a final rule that adds to its regulations implementing President Donald Trump's February executive order authorizing sanctions against the International Criminal Court (see 2502070022). The rule, effective July 1, incorporates several previously issued general licenses into the regulations. The agency said it plans to issue a "more comprehensive set of regulations" in the future, "which may include additional interpretive guidance and definitions, GLs, and other regulatory provisions."
The U.K. on June 26 amended various entries on its Russia sanctions list, the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation announced. The U.K. made changes to entries for 14 people that were originally sanctioned for undermining Ukrainian sovereignty through their work at the Social Design Agency, a Russian social media and marketing firm. OFSI also revised the entries for two entities: Rosneft Marine (UK) and the Main Directorate of Deep-Sea Research of the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control last week renewed a Russia-related general license that authorizes certain civil nuclear energy-related transactions with Russian entities. General License 115B, which replaces 115A, authorizes those transactions with Gazprombank and other financial institutions through 12:01 a.m. EST Dec. 19. The license was scheduled to expire June 30. OFAC also updated several FAQs to reflect the renewal.
President Donald Trump said June 27 he had been working on a plan to remove Iran sanctions, but he decided against the plan after objecting to comments recently made by Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network soon will issue a rule designating three Mexican financial institutions as primary money laundering concerns, which will block U.S. banks, securities brokers and other money services businesses from transmitting certain funds involving those entities.
The intergovernmental Financial Action Task Force recently updated its list of jurisdictions with “deficiencies” in combating terrorism financing, weapons proliferation and other sanctions-related issues, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network said June 23. FATF added the British Virgin Islands and Bolivia to its list of "Jurisdictions Under Increased Monitoring" and removed Croatia, Mali and Tanzania from that list. FATF’s list of "High-Risk Jurisdictions Subject to a Call for Action" remains the same, with Iran, North Korea and Myanmar.
Chinese purchases of Iranian oil will continue to be subject to U.S. sanctions despite President Donald Trump saying June 24 that China can now buy Iranian oil (see 2506240049), a senior White House official said.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned Giovanni Vicente Mosquera Serrano, who is "involved in" the drug trafficking and financial operations of the transnational criminal group Tren de Aragua. The agency said Mosquera Serrano oversees drug trafficking efforts and murders on behalf of the gang in Colombia, and he also manages the "financial proceeds" of the gang’s criminal activities. The State Department is offering up to $3 million in rewards for information leading to his arrest or conviction.
Australia should impose an arms embargo on Israel along with other sanctions in response to human rights violations committed by the Israeli government and some Israeli citizens against Palestinians in the West Bank, the Australian Center for International Justice said.