A senior State Department official called rising weapons shipments between Russia and North Korea “deeply concerning,” saying the U.S. plans to continue using a combination of sanctions and diplomacy to try to disrupt trade between the two countries.
A lawsuit between the trustee of a Russian businessman and his "long term" partner will go to trial after the U.K. High Court of Justice on March 13 declined to dismiss their defense, setting up a case that could shed light on the role sanctioned parties play in property disputes.
House Foreign Affairs Committee ranking member Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., introduced a bill March 15 that would impose sanctions on foreign persons who contribute to the construction of a tunnel from Russia to Crimea, which Russia invaded in 2014.
Four senators last week urged President Joe Biden to impose additional sanctions on Nicaragua for that country's crackdown on religious freedom, including the recent arrest of 13 Christian pastors.
The EU on March 13 removed 12 names from its Russian sanctions regime, including nine Russian political and military figures who have died. The three living de-listed people are Arkady Volozh, a Russian businessman and co-founder of internet company Yandex; Serguey Mndoiants, vice president of government relations for AFK Sistema; and Jozef Hambalek, president of the European wing of the Night Wolves motorcycle club. The EU also amended the entries for 97 people and nine entities.
A Swiss private banking group agreed to pay about $3.7 million to settle allegations that it violated multiple U.S. sanctions programs, including restrictions against Russia and Cuba. The Office of Foreign Assets Control said EFG International AG, which operates about 40 global subsidiaries, bought and sold securities on behalf of people sanctioned by OFAC.
A U.K. law firm this week warned about sanctions risks tied to property purchases, saying one of its lawyers had to first obtain approval from a U.K. bank before a British-Iranian client could buy property in the U.K.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on March 13 sanctioned three people in the Bosnian Serb Republic for helping Serb Republic President Milorad Dodik undermine the “peace and stability” of Bosnia and Herzegovina. OFAC said the three people “facilitated Dodik’s efforts to undermine” the Dayton Peace Agreement, the 1995 accords that ended the yearslong Bosnian War, and the “authority” of the Bosnian Constitutional Court.
Rep. Tom Kean Jr., R-N.J., chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Europe, said March 12 that he's drafting a “tough sanctions bill” to help reduce U.S. reliance on Russian state-owned company Rosatom for nuclear fuel.
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