Beijing is looking to grow Renminbi-based financial networks to create an alternative to the dollar-dominated global financial system, which could help the country shield itself from some Western sanctions if it invades Taiwan, researchers and policy experts said this week. Although China isn’t yet ready to rely on those networks, that could change within several years, experts said.
The Czech Republic added one entity and two people to its Russia sanctions regime March 28, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced. The entity is Voice of Europe, an allegedly pro-Russian media operation in Europe operated from the Czech Republic. The people are Viktor Medvedchuk, a former pro-Russian Ukrainian politician who allegedly bankrolls Voice of Europe, according to Reuters, and Artem Marchevskyi, the leader of Voice of Europe.
The European Commission last month updated two Russian sanctions FAQs reon the subject of state-owned enterprises, both related to insurance coverage for certain vessels and ports. The FAQs, updated March 25, explain under what scenarios EU insurers can make payments involving Russian state-owned companies, including payments directly to a port owned by one of those companies, and more.
The House is drafting a national security supplemental appropriations bill that could include a provision to seize frozen Russian assets in the U.S. and transfer the money to Ukraine, Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said March 31.
Latvian citizen Oleg Chistyakov was charged with violating U.S. export laws as part of a scheme to ship "sophisticated avionics equipment" to Russian companies, DOJ announced last week. The agency noted Chistyakov is the third person to be charged in connection to the scheme, which was led by Kansas company KanRus Trading Co.
The U.K. on March 27 amended Svetlana Alexandrovna Krivonogikh's listing under the Russia sanctions regime. Krivonogikh is a shareholder of Russian bank Bank Rossiya, which is a "significant stakeholder in National Media Group," which controls major TV stations in Russia that "promote the destabilisation of Ukraine." Her entry was amended to provide a new national identification number.
U.S. companies interested in divesting Russian assets that are subject to the Export Administration Regulations may need to obtain multiple licenses from the U.S. government, a Commerce Department official said March 28.
The Bureau of Industry and Security is sending letters to American companies that are selling or producing items found in Russian weapons, asking them to stop selling goods to certain foreign customers.
Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo and Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna met this week to discuss Russia-related sanctions evasion. Treasury said Adeyemo stressed the importance of “strengthening the international response” to Russia through combating “the evasion of sanctions and export control measures,” and “both confirmed the importance of enforcement of the” global price cap on Russian oil. The U.S. has sanctioned Estonia-based companies (see 2403250029), and in October added others to the Commerce Department’s Entity List (see 2310060044) for helping Russia evade sanctions and export controls.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned six people and two entities based in Russia, China and the United Arab Emirates for helping to generate revenue or process financial transactions for North Korea.