The U.K. Solicitors Regulation Authority released its annual Anti-Money Laundering report for 2022-23, covering the agency's role in addressing money laundering and terrorism financing, the role of private parties, enforcement activity, how to report suspicious activity, sanctions, case studies and risk assessments.
The U.K. Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office released a statement after a Court of Appeal decision relating to how the U.K. government may sanction a Russian entity based on what parties can exert control over it. The agency said it is "carefully considering" the decision's impact, specifically the decision that PJSC National Bank is controlled by sanctioned parties due to their political office (see 2301310028).
The Russian invasion of Ukraine changed export compliance dramatically, said Howard Mendelsohn, chief client officer for Kharon, "where the onus is on industry like it’s never been before to sort of find a way to be proactive." Mendelsohn, whose firm provides risk intelligence to businesses, spoke at an OCR Services trade compliance conference Oct. 17 in Bethesda, Maryland, outside Washington, D.C. He said exporters have to be proactive on blocking reports and applying for licenses, and importers have to find another supplier.
Canada this week announced sanctions against nine Moldovan people, saying they are “Russian collaborators” with ties to sanctioned oligarchs. The country also sanctioned six television stations that have had their operating licenses revoked by Moldova’s Commission for Exceptional Situations and “actively promote and disseminate Russian disinformation” to justify Russia’s war against Ukraine.
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A U.K. appeals court last week granted an injunction blocking a Gazprom subsidiary from suing its lenders in a Russian court over an abandoned gas project. The England and Wales Court of Appeal said it was the proper place to bring RusChemAlliance's claim against Germany-based Deutsche Bank, adding that there was no good reason not to impose the injunction.
Switzerland added five Russian companies to its sanctions list to align with the EU's decision to add the entities in September, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs announced, according to an unofficial translation. The five companies -- RT Balkan, Oriental Review, New Eastern Outlook, Katehon and Tsargrad -- are Russian broadcasters.
The Treasury Department this week sanctioned two ship owners in Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, along with their two vessels, for transporting Russian oil sold above the global price cap set by the U.S. and its allies. The agency also issued a new general license authorizing certain transactions with the two sanctioned ship owners and, together with the Group of 7 countries and Australia, published a new price cap guidance and advisory outlining best practices for the maritime oil industry.
The U.K.'s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation on Oct. 10 extended a General License allowing U.K. parties to receive payments from a sanctioned party if the contract took effect before the party's designation. The license now runs through May 21. OFSI also altered the license to change the definition of "contractual obligation" to exclude contracts using certain types of financial instruments, expand the list of excluded contracts that involve financial instruments, and create another annex that lists other types of excluded contracts.
The Bureau of Industry and Security recently renewed temporary denial orders for Russian airline Ural Airlines (see 2304110018) for one year and Russian cargo carrier Aviastar (see 2304180012) for six months after the agency said both continue to “act in blatant disregard” for U.S. export controls. BIS said Ural has continued to illegally operate aircraft on flights between Russia and Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, and Aviastar has operated flights between China and Russia. The TDOs bar the airlines from participating in transactions with items subject to the Export Administration Regulations.