The EU announced details of its 10th sanctions package on Russia over the war in Ukraine. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the proposed restrictions include export bans on over $11.7 billion worth of critical technology and industrial goods, including electronics, specialized vehicles, machine parts, spare parts for trucks and jet engines, and goods used in the construction industry such as antennas or cranes. Von der Leyen said the goal is to have the new sanctions implemented by Feb. 24.
A group of European countries not in the EU aligned with two recent sanctions decisions made by the bloc, the European Council announced. On Jan. 30, the council amended the list of individuals and entities subject to its sanctions regime pertaining to those undermining the sovereignty of Ukraine. The countries of North Macedonia, Montenegro, Albania, Ukraine, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway also imposed the decision, the council said Feb. 14.
Russian oil companies drilled more at their oil fields in 2022 than in more than a decade, Bloomberg reported Feb. 14, with "little sign that international sanctions" directly harmed upstream oil operations.
The U.K. Revenue and Customs issued nearly $4.4 million in compound settlement offers pertaining to unlicensed exports of dual use goods, military goods and related controlled activities in November and December 2022, the Department for International Trade announced. The settlement offers were made to four unnamed U.K. exporters, with the largest settlement of $2.3 million in December for the unlicensed exports of military goods.
Shipping giant A.P. Moller-Maersk is seeking around $43 million from Evergreen Marine over its Ever Given container ship's blockage of the Suez Canal in 2021, ShippingWatch reported. Filing suit at Denmark's Maritime and Commercial Court over losses caused by the Ever Given, Maersk said the blockage forced the company to divert vessels and suffer delays of shipping lines. Evergreen denied liability for the damages, ShippingWatch reported.
The U.K.'s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation in a pair of Feb. 10 notices added three entries to its global anti-corruption sanctions regime and corrected two entries under its cyber sanctions list. Listings for Vasil Kroumov Bozhkov, Delyan Slavchev Peevski and Ilko Dimitrov Zhelyazkov -- all Bulgarian nationals -- were added to the global anti-corruption restrictions, subjecting the individuals to an asset freeze and travel ban.
U.K. Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch visited Mexico Feb. 9 to promote two post-Brexit trade deals, "remove barriers to business, and grow both UK exports and investment," the Department for International Trade said. During the two-day visit, Badenoch held talks with Mexico's Secretary of Economy Raquel Buenrostro to discuss the U.K.'s bid to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership and a new U.K.-Mexico trade deal. The new deal will look to address areas such as services and tech.
The U.K. adopted the U.N.'s humanitarian exemption across 14 of its sanctions regimes. The exemption allows certain organizations to deliver humanitarian assistance without violating U.N. asset freezes.
The U.K. corrected one entry under its Russia sanctions regime, the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation said in a Feb. 9 notice. The entry for Evgeny Shkolov, deputy board chairman of JSC System Operator of the Unified Energy System, was corrected to add the middle name Mikhailovich to one of his alternate names.
The U.K.'s Department for International Trade's Export Control Joint Unit updated its guidance for supplying professional services to an individual linked with Russia. The guidance now provides an overview of Russia service sanctions and discusses compliance, exceptions and licenses, and professional and business services sanctions in effect since Dec. 16. These banned services include advertising services, architectural and engineering services, auditing services and IT consultancy and design services.