The EU made new sanctions listings under three regimes, the European Council announced. Under the anti-terrorism list, the council added two individuals and one group linked to ISIL operating in the Cabo Delgado region in Mozambique. The group is ISIS-Mozambique and the two individuals are Abu Yasir Hassan and Bonomade Mahcude Omar, who hold leadership positions in the group.

The European Commission recently wrapped up the 11th negotiation round with five eastern and southern African states on an economic partnership agreement. The commission declared that "good progress" was achieved on the legal texts of Intellectual Property Rights; Trade in Services, Investment Liberalisation and Digital Trade; Competition; Transparency in Public Procurement; and Dispute Settlement and Institutional Provisions. The parties need "further discussions" on the few issues related to Technical Barriers to Trade such as "conformity assessment and technical assistance," the commission said. The five African states involved in the discussions are Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles and Zimbabwe.

The U.K. added three names to its Russia sanctions list on April 21. The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation said Russian government officials Andrey Zadachin, Denis Kolesnikov and Elena Lenskaya were all involved in the "politically motivated case" against Russian journalist and activist Vladimir Kara-Murza. The U.S. issued similar sanctions in March (see 2303030021).

The U.K. Solicitors Regulation Authority said it needs various SRA-regulated firms to fill out an assessment on how they are ensuring they comply with British sanctions. All firms that have not previously submitted such information must fill out the assessment between May 2 and May 31. The SRA will contact Compliance Officers for Legal Practice or Authorized Signatories at the start of May with more instructions.

G-7 ambassadors sent a letter to the Swiss Federal Council laying out their concerns that Russians are exploiting Swiss privacy laws to hide billions of francs in offshore assets, the Financial Times reported. The letter said "law enforcement officials are blocked from investigating illicit financial structures" due to "privacy protections,” and Swiss officials “were unable to freeze assets under protections for dual nationals, legal residents, those with legal ties to Swiss entities, or those holding indirect beneficial ownership." The ambassadors said the loopholes "put Switzerland at reputational risk." The Swiss council said there is no basis for the concerns.

The EU extended the antidumping duties on stainless steel hot-rolled coils from Indonesia to imports of the same goods from Turkey. The move comes after an anti-circumvention investigation revealed that the Indonesian imports were skirting the duties via Turkey. "The extension of anti-dumping measures to SSHR from Turkiye is necessary in order to enforce the trade defence measures in place since October 2020 on imports of SSHR from Indonesia, China and Taiwan," the European Commission said April 18.

The U.K. released guidance for high-value dealers and the luxury goods and art market industries to aid them in navigating financial sanctions. The guidance lays out best practice for participants in these industries while noting sanctions risks and reporting obligations.

Swedish spirit maker The Absolut Company, distillers of Absolut Vodka, halted all exports of its liquor to Russia due to consumer backlash, the company said in a statement. Pernod Ricard SA, Absolut's parent company, recently said shipments to Russia had resumed, generating fierce rebuke from consumers. “The reaction over the recent days is clearly reflective of the role Absolut plays for its extended community in Sweden,” Absolut CEO Stephanie Durroux said. "We acknowledge the significance of these long-standing and trusting relationships with our Swedish employees, partners, consumers, and the Swedish society at large."

The U.K.'s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation added Nazem Ahmad to its counterterrorism (domestic) sanctions regime. Ahmad is suspected of financing listed terrorist group Hezbollah and is now subject to an asset freeze and travel ban. In a separate release, OFSI said Ahmad was listed "as part of continued efforts to prevent terrorism in the interests of national security." OFSI said Ahmad's designation is the first use of the domestic counterterrorism sanctions regime. The U.S. also recently sanctioned a network of people and entities working for him to evade sanctions (see 2304180056.

British Trade Minister Nigel Huddleston signed a memorandum of understanding with Oklahoma April 18 to stimulate trade and investment between the two parties, marking the fourth MOU inked between the U.K. and a U.S. state. The U.K.'s Department of International Trade said the MOU will "unlock opportunities for UK businesses to export more and encourage inward investment, which will in turn drive economic growth and create jobs in the UK, contributing to the government’s priority to grow the economy." Huddleston also was scheduled to attend an event to welcome a mutual recognition agreement between British and American regulators of architects.