The EU officially adopted its fifth round of sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, banning the import or transfer of Russian coal and other solid fossil fuels. The EU ramped up pressure on Russia following atrocities committed in the Ukrainian city of Bucha, the European Council said April 8.
The U.K. issued a new general license related to the mounting Russia sanctions, permitting until May 6 a wind-down period for positions with Credit Bank of Moscow. The license says that an individual can slowly drop its transactions, including closing out of any positions, to which it is a party involving the bank or one of its subsidiaries. The U.K. also updated the general license pertaining to winding down positions with Sberbank. The update said the bank remains under an asset freeze, but payments related to energy products for use in the U.K. can continue to be used.
The U.K. added eight individuals and two entities to its Russia sanctions regime in another move to punish Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. The individuals are Sergei Sergeivich Ivanov; Boris Borisovich Rotenberg; Gazprombank Management Board Chairman Andrey Igorevich Akimov; Public Joint Stock Company Gazprom Neft Management Board Chair Alexander Valeryevich Dyukov; Sergey Anatolyevich Kogogin, director general of Kamaz PJSC; Andrey Grigoryevich Guryev, former deputy board chairman at PJSC PhosAgro; Novatek PJSC Management Board Chairman Leonid Viktorovich Mikhelson; and Viatcheslav Kantor, chairman of the coordinating board of PJSC Acron.
Australia imposed sanctions on an additional 67 Russians for their roles in Moscow’s war in Ukraine, Australia's foreign affairs ministry said April 7. The sanctions, which were levied after reports of alleged war crimes committed by Russian forces in Ukraine, target senior Russian military and government officials. Australia said it now has sanctioned nearly 600 people and entities related to the Russian war in Ukraine (see 2203180006, 2203080008 and 2204050019).
With the administration considering sanctions on Kaspersky Labs, companies should be assessing not only their own use of the Russia-based software vendor’s cybersecurity offerings, but also use by their vendors and suppliers of Kaspersky’s products, law firm Crowell said on April 6.
The Bureau of Industry and Security on April 7 suspended the export privileges of three Russian airlines for violating U.S. export controls against Russia. The agency issued 180-day temporary denial orders for Aeroflot, Azur Air and UTair, barring the airlines from participating in transactions with items subject to the Export Administration Regulations, BIS said.
The U.K. updated its General License pertaining to Russian banks to allow payments relating to insolvency proceedings with VTB's British subsidiary. The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation said that under the license, anyone until April 3, 2023, "may make, receive or process any payments, or take any other action, in connection with any Insolvency Proceedings relating to the UK Subsidiary, whether prior to or after the commencement of such proceedings, including, without limitation, an insolvency practitioner for the purposes of his or her functions under or in connection with Insolvency Proceedings."
Konstantin Malofeyev, a Russian oligarch, was charged in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York with violating U.S. sanctions in his efforts to establish television networks in Russia and Greece and acquire a television network in Bulgaria, DOJ announced April 6. Malofeyev is charged with conspiracy to violate U.S. sanctions and violations of U.S. sanctions relating to the hiring of U.S. citizen and television producer Jack Hanick to set up the networks. Malofeyev allegedly transferred a $10 million investment from a U.S. bank to a business associate in Greece in violation of the U.S. asset freeze on the oligarch.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on April 5 sanctioned Hydra Market, a Russia-based darknet market used to buy and sell illegal goods, and identified more than 100 virtual currency addresses associated with Hydra’s operations. The agency also sanctioned Garantex, a virtual currency exchange with operations in Moscow. OFAC said that more than $100 million worth of transactions associated with Garantex “are associated with illicit actors and darknet markets.”
The Bureau of Industry and Security on April 7 suspended the export privileges of three Russian airlines for violating U.S. export controls against Russia. The agency issued 180-day temporary denial orders for Aeroflot, Azur Air and UTair, which bar the airlines from participating in transactions with items subject to the Export Administration Regulations, BIS said. The agency said it may renew the denial orders after 180 days.