The U.K.’s National Crime Agency published an alert last week to make companies aware of sanctions evasion by Russian shadow fleet vessels, including red flags they should be monitoring and steps they can take to alert U.K. authorities.
Three Senate Democrats urged the Trump administration July 3 to restart regular updates of sanctions and export controls against Chinese and other entities helping Russia’s war machine.
The U.S. and its allies should consider using additional sanctions to force Iran back to the negotiating table over its nuclear weapons program, although more sanctions also risk pushing Iran to cooperate even more closely with China, Russia and North Korea, a former Pentagon official said last week.
The State Department is revising the International Traffic in Arms Regulations to align with recent U.N. Security Council decisions involving the Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, Libya, Somalia, Central African Republic, South Sudan and Sudan. The agency’s final rule, effective July 7, also updates the list of NATO members and major non-NATO allies and makes other corrections and clarifications to the ITAR.
The U.K. on July 1 amended three entries on its Russia sanctions list by updating the listings for two people and one entity. The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation updated the spellings for the entries of two individuals: Yegor Yurievich Karasev, executive at RNCO Banking Zone, and Anatoliy Moiseevich Cherner, deputy director for general-logistics and sales for Gazprom Neft. OFSI also updated the listing for the Main Directorate of Deep-Sea Research of the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control removed sanctions from Gold Miles Ltd., a Hong Kong-based company designated in 2023. The firm was sanctioned for being owned by Ireland national John Desmond Hanafin, owner of Huriya Private FZE LLE, which OFAC sanctioned for helping to move Russian financial assets into the United Arab Emirates. OFAC didn't release more information about the delisting.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned Russia-headquartered Aeza Group, a hosting services provider that enables cybercriminal activity, along with several affiliated companies and people. OFAC said Aeza Group is a "bulletproof" hosting services provider that sell access to specialized servers and other infrastructure to help ransomware actors, personal information stealers, and drug vendors evade law enforcement.
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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 U.K. last week warned foreign companies that it may sanction them if they’re involved in activities that could contribute to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, leading to “serious consequences for your business and other financial dealings.” The country’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office said British businesses are also on the lookout for companies that may be doing prohibited business with Russia, and if U.K. companies can’t be "assured" that a foreign firm isn’t involved with Russia, “some UK companies may take a cautious approach (sometimes termed ‘de-risking’) and refuse to do business with you.”