Switzerland amended its Syria sanctions regime to allow for humanitarian work in the war- and earthquake-torn nation. "Humanitarian actors in receipt of federal funding may now provide money and economic resources directly or indirectly to designated persons, entities and businesses, when necessary to provide humanitarian assistance or support to the civilian population," the Swiss Federal Council said. The amendment went into effect March 3.

The U.K. amended or corrected 21 entries under its Russia sanctions regime in a March 10 notice. Among those whose entries the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation amended are Oleg Evtushenko, Rostec's management board member; Vitaly Markelov, deputy-chairman of Gazprom's management board; Yuri Olenin, Rosatom management board member; Roman Pakhomov, Aeroflot-Russian Airline director; Andrei Petrov, Rosatom management board member; Alexander Prokopiev, Russia State Duma member. OFSI also made corrections to the listings for 12 individuals and two entities, the Almaz-Antey Air and Space Defense Corp. and Sobol.

The EU General Court on March 8 annulled the listing of Nizar Assaad under the Syria sanctions regime, finding the European Council erred in establishing that he is still a businessperson in Syria, has any ties to the ruling Assad or Makhlouf families or is associated with the Syrian regime. The court also said the council violated the principle of legal certainty by retroactively imposing the sanctions in 2011 after confirming that Assaad was not the listed party for the previous 10 years.

The U.K.'s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation updated its guidance on its maritime services prohibition and oil price cap on refined Russian oil products to show the price cap and the wind-down period for oil products loaded before Feb. 5, according to the EUSanctions blog. The guidance also includes a new "origin of goods" section on whether oil products have been substantially processed and details a new example concerning the transport of co-mingled refined oil products.

The U.K. Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation added one entry each to its Central African Republic and South Sudan sanctions regimes and amended one entry under its Democratic Republic of the Congo sanctions list, in a series of three notices.

The U.K. Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation added two entries to its Iran (Human Rights) sanctions regime and one name to its Syria restrictions. Seyyed Mohammed Saleh Hashemi Golpayegani and the Headquarters for Enjoining Right and Forbidding Evil were both added to the Iran sanctions regime. Golpayegani is the head of the listed entity. The entry for Morteza Barati was amended. OFSI also designated Amjad Youssef, a military officer, under its Syria sanctions list.

Various European countries not in the EU aligned with four recent sanctions decisions taken by the European Council, the EU announced March 8.

The EU added nine people and three entities to its global human rights sanctions regime for their roles in carrying out sexual and gender-based violence, the European Council announced March 7. The new listings include acting Taliban officials, Moscow police officers, members of the Russian armed forces, South Sudanese militia commanders, a Myanmar official and military office, an Iranian prison and the Syrian Republican Guard.

French authorities seized a villa worth over $24 million and allegedly owned by a sanctioned Russian oligarch, French newspaper Le Monde reported March 1. The mansion, seized in October, is suspected of belonging to Russian steel magnate Viktor Rashnikov, the report said. While French authorities had already frozen three properties linked to the oligarch since he was sanctioned in March 2022, this property went unnoticed because it was "not declared to the tax authorities as being his property," the report said.

The EU General Court in a March 1 opinion granted "interim measures" allowing Russian national Nikita Mazepin, sanctioned in September, to enter the EU to "negotiate his recruitment" as a Formula 1 driver racing under a neutral flag. The opinion marks the first time the court suspended sanctions on a person pending the main hearing of the case, according to the European Sanctions blog.