The Paris Court of Appeals ordered the French government to release an impounded yacht owned by EU-sanctioned Russian billionaire Alexey Kuzmichev due to procedural errors made during the vessel's seizure, according to an unofficial translation. Kuzmichev is one of the main shareholders of Russia's Alfa Bank. French customs seized the yacht, called La Petite Ourse, in March following Kuzmichev's addition to the sanctions list. The yacht was moored in Antibes. The French court said the customs agents did not follow correct procedure when searching the vessel, incorrectly relying on an authority that permitted a search in connection with suspected fraud.
The EU released updated guidance on the provision of business services under its Russia sanctions regime, adding an overview table of the EU restrictions on services. The European Commission added five questions to its FAQs about business services, covering how the sectoral scope for IT consultancy services is defined, whether the measures on IT consultancy services hamper the conditions of civil society organization in Russia, which software updates are exempted from the ban on IT consultancy services, what activities are covered on the architectural and engineering services ban and what activities are covered by the ban on legal advisory services.
The EU dropped three individuals from its Burundi sanctions list while extending the list for another year, the European Council announced Oct. 25. Chief Police Commissioner Godefroid Bizimana, Prime Minister Gervais Ndirakobuca and Leonard Ngendakumana, a former army general, were removed from the sanctions regime, leaving only Joseph Niyonzima, a National Intelligence Service officer, subject to the restrictions. The council cited the advancements made by Burundi in the areas of "human rights, good governance and rule of law" but still expressed concern over certain challenges in these areas. The Burundi sanctions regime was extended until Oct. 31, 2023.
The U.K.'s Trade Remedies Authority suspended antidumping duties imposed on imports of bicycles and bike parts from China, including bicycles consigned from Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Tunisia, imported by the Martlet Group, the Department for International Trade announced Oct. 24. The suspension runs from the date the notice was published and covers bicycle parts, including brake levers, coaster braking hubs, crank-gears, frames, handlebars and hub brakes.
The EU on Oct. 24 adopted new rules to ease digital collaboration between customs and partner competent authorities to create a single window for customs, the European Council announced. With the new rules, businesses no longer will need to submit documents to several authorities via different portals because the single window will allow customs authorities to automatically verify that the relevant goods comply with EU requirements and that the necessary formalities have been completed, the council said.
Up to 11 former employees of Swiss global commodity trading and mining company Glencore could be investigated in the U.K. under charges of bribery in five African countries, Alexandra Healy, an attorney for the U.K.'s Serious Fraud Office (SFO), said Oct. 24 in a London court, Bloomberg reported. The alleged scheme involved more than $28 million in bribes, though the SFO didn't say if all 11 were being investigated for bribery. Glencoe told Bloomberg the 11 are former employees. Healy said the SFO will make individual charging decisions likely by the end of April. In DOJ's parallel investigation, two former Glencore traders, Anthony Stimler and Emilio Heredia, pleaded guilty, Bloomberg said. The SFO announced in May that Glencore was expected to pay around $1.5 billion to settle investigations into bribery and price manipulation charges revolving around deals in the U.S., U.K. and Brazil.
Uncertainty over whether the Ukrainian Black Sea grain export deal (see 2208010048) will be extended has rattled agricultural markets, Bloomberg reported Oct. 21. The deal is set to expire in November, and officials are currently negotiating new terms and conditions. Ukraine wants to extend the deal by more than a year and include Mykolayiv as a fourth exporting port, while Russian wants to reopen its pipeline that takes ammonia to Odesa in Ukraine for shipment, Bloomberg said. In the meantime, a "logjam" of vessels carrying Ukrainian crops is easing up, with an acceleration of inspections.
The U.K. added three Iranian individuals and one Iranian entity to its Russia sanctions regime pertaining to their involvement in sending unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to the Russian military for use in Ukraine, the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation said Oct. 20. The individuals, Saeed Aghajani, head of the Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps Aerospace Force UAV command; Mohammad Bagheri, chairman of the Armed Forces General Staff; and Seyed Hojjatollah Qureishi, head of the Iranian Defense Ministry's Supply and Logistics Division, are subject to an asset freeze and travel ban. OFSI also sanctioned Shahed Aviation Industries, an Iranian UAV manufacturer. The OFSI notice amended the entry for Oleksandr Saulenko, a senior official installed in the Russian administration of Berdyansk in the temporarily controlled area of Zaporizhzhia, regarding date of birth. The U.K.'s move follows the EU's listing of the same individuals and entity (see 2210200014).
The EU added three Iranian individuals and one Iranian entity to its sanctions regime pertaining to those threatening the territorial sovereignty of Ukraine, the European Council announced Oct. 20. The individuals and entities helped supply unmanned aerial vehicles used by Russia in its war against Ukraine. The parties were subjected to an asset freeze and travel ban.
The U.K.'s exit from the EU has led to a 16% drop in trade from the U.K. to the EU and a 20% decline in trade from the EU to the U.K. "relative to the scenario in which Brexit had not occurred," according to data from Ireland's Economic and Social Research Institute. ESRI looked at product-level data on goods trade flows from 2021 for the report. Ireland saw a large decline in British imports, though its exports to the U.K. have remained relatively untouched, an Oct. 19 ESRI news release said.