The U.K. and the EU added another wave of individuals to their Russia sanctions regime following the invasion of Ukraine. The U.K.'s newest additions include Roman Abramovich, owner of Chelsea Football Club, who has announced his intentions to sell the club. Abramovich was listed as a "prominent Russian businessman" due to his stewardship of the popular club, and a stakeholder in Evraz and Norilsk Nickel and as a "pro-Kremlin oligarch." The U.K. Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation further explained that Abramovich has a close relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin and that this relationship has enabled Abramovich to reap financial benefits from the Russian government.
Ukraine’s chief economic official this week called for maximum financial sanctions against Russia and a global embargo on the country's oil and energy products, saying the revenue is helping Russia’s military kill Ukrainian civilians. Oleg Ustenko, the chief economic adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, also urged countries to send Ukraine more weapons and ammunition for its army.
Even before new sanctions and export controls targeting Russia take full effect, many companies are deciding that compliance and due diligence costs are not worth the potential profits of continued business dealings in Russia and Belarus, former U.S. export control and sanctions officials said, speaking at a Washington International Trade Association panel on March 10.
President Joe Biden issued an executive order March 11 banning exports of luxury goods headed to Russian residents, including luxury vehicles, jewelry, high-end alcohol, high-end watches, and high-end jewelry. A fact sheet said Russians import about $550 million a year worth of these goods.
The U.K.'s Export Control Joint Unit published a General License temporarily permitting the provision of certain insurance and reinsurance services for aviation and space goods and aviation and space technology to Russian clients. The license took effect March 8, and anyone seeking to use the license must register via the U.K.'s SPIRE system within 30 days of their first use of the license, the ECJU said.
A Senate bill with bipartisan support could apply secondary sanctions on anyone transacting or transporting gold from Russia’s central bank holdings or selling gold in Russia. The Stop Russian Government and Oligarchs from Limiting Democracy Act, introduced this week, would look to close a “loophole” in U.S. sanctions that allows Russian oligarchs to launder money through gold, the sponsoring senators said March 8. The bill would authorize secondary sanctions to “deter the purchase of Russian gold and close this loophole that allows the Russian Federation to soften the financial impact of sanctions.”
The Office of Foreign Assets Control announced sanctions on eight Russian individuals, six entities, one water vessel and one aircraft. OFAC determined that the property and interests in property subject to U.S. jurisdiction of the designated persons and entities are blocked. The sanctions were pursuant to Executive Order 14024, which targets members of the Russian government, technology sector, and their families and businesses.
The EU announced new sanctions targeting the Belarusian financial sector to expand on existing restrictions on the country in response to its role in the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The new restrictions apply to three banks -- Belagroprombank, Bank Dabrabyt and the Development Bank of the Republic of Belarus, along with their Belarusian subsidiaries -- and keep them using SWIFT, the interbank messaging service.
The EU ambassador to Washington, Stavros Lambrinidis, said that settling trade irritants between the U.S. and Europe and setting up the EU-U.S. Trade and Technology Council made it easy to get a unified front on export controls done quickly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The TTC "ensured every player that’s important in this field could get on the phone and get it done," he said during a March 9 webinar hosted by the World Trade Center in Washington, D.C., and the Washington Intergovernmental Professional Group.
President Joe Biden issued an executive order March 9 that will require several agencies to study how cryptocurrency can be used to evade sanctions. The order, part of a “priority effort” underway by the administration to counter illegal uses of virtual currencies, comes amid concerns from lawmakers that Russia could turn to cryptocurrency to evade U.S. and global financial restrictions (see 2203030047).