Former U.S. and U.K. national security officials warned the British government about aligning too closely with a decoupling strategy toward China, saying this week that the U.K. should carefully manage sensitive trade issues but not in a way that strains economic ties with Beijing.
A large U.S. sanctions penalty earlier this month is a sign of the Office of Foreign Assets Control’s rising compliance expectations for investment firms, accountants, wealth advisers and other financial “gatekeepers,” particularly if they’re aware that funds may be indirectly tied to a sanctioned person, law firms said. The fine, which was the largest OFAC penalty since 2023, also could begin a trend of tougher enforcement on those gatekeepers, law firms said, especially if they rely on wrong legal advice or don’t fully cooperate with OFAC.
Sanctioned Russian shadow fleet vessels can receive port access and services at an EU port if they’re carrying dangerous or polluting goods that need to be unloaded, the European Commission said in a new FAQ last week. Those vessels can offload “for a unique emergency port call” if they were sanctioned while they were carrying the cargo, the FAQ said, “and in any case not later than 30 days from the date of targeting.” It also said a “60-day winddown period is justified” in cases where other circumstances “do not allow for an earlier offloading of the dangerous or polluting goods and serious risks persist that could endanger human life, marine environments, and coastal infrastructure.”
Efforts to prevent sanctions evasion will grow “increasingly difficult” in the coming years, especially as evaders make better use of emerging technologies and find new loopholes in trade regulations, the intergovernmental Financial Action Task Force warned countries and companies this month.
Senate Foreign Relations Committee ranking member Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., said June 18 that the Trump administration should have agreed at this week’s Group of Seven summit in Canada to lower the international price cap on Russian oil.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted June 18 to approve 10 Trump administration nominations, including Jacob Helberg as undersecretary of state for economic growth, energy and the environment and Andrew Puzder as U.S. ambassador to the EU.
Australia this week sanctioned 60 ocean vessels with ties to Russia's shadow fleet, the group of ships helping the country evade sanctions on transported oil and other goods. The designations mark the first time Australia has sanctioned Russian shadow fleet ships, the country's Office of the Minister for Foreign Affairs said, adding that the "sanctions reinforce Australia’s consistent commitment to ensuring Russia, and those enabling its illegal invasion of Ukraine, face consequences." The ministry said the ships use "deceptive practices" to hide their cargo, "including flag-hopping, disabling tracking systems, and operating with inadequate insurance."
The U.K. issued a threat assessment June 18 for art market participants and high-value dealers to address Russian sanctions violation risks in the art industry. The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation said it's "highly likely that high value goods" owned by sanctioned parties in the U.K. haven't been reported to OFSI, and it's "likely" that Russian sanctioned parties and their enablers have dealt with high-value goods in the U.K. in "breach of asset freeze prohibitions."
Canada this week announced a host of new sanctions against Russia, designating 77 people, 39 entities and 201 vessels and imposing new export and import restrictions on industrial goods, dual-use technologies and more.
Ten Senate Democrats, including Senate Foreign Relations Committee ranking member Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., urged the State Department to retain the staff and programs of the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (DRL), whose duties include administering sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act.