The U.K. on July 1 amended three entries on its Russia sanctions list by updating the listings for two people and one entity. The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation updated the spellings for the entries of two individuals: Yegor Yurievich Karasev, executive at RNCO Banking Zone, and Anatoliy Moiseevich Cherner, deputy director for general-logistics and sales for Gazprom Neft. OFSI also updated the listing for the Main Directorate of Deep-Sea Research of the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control removed sanctions from Gold Miles Ltd., a Hong Kong-based company designated in 2023. The firm was sanctioned for being owned by Ireland national John Desmond Hanafin, owner of Huriya Private FZE LLE, which OFAC sanctioned for helping to move Russian financial assets into the United Arab Emirates. OFAC didn't release more information about the delisting.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned Russia-headquartered Aeza Group, a hosting services provider that enables cybercriminal activity, along with several affiliated companies and people. OFAC said Aeza Group is a "bulletproof" hosting services provider that sell access to specialized servers and other infrastructure to help ransomware actors, personal information stealers, and drug vendors evade law enforcement.
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The Council of the European Union on June 30 renewed sanctions on Russia for an additional six months, pushing them to Jan. 31, 2026. The measures, first imposed in 2014 due to Russian attacks against Ukrainian sovereignty, currently consist of broad sectoral measures and efforts to combat sanctions circumvention. The measures also include a "ban on the import or transfer of seaborne crude oil and certain petroleum products from Russia to the EU."
The U.K. last week warned foreign companies that it may sanction them if they’re involved in activities that could contribute to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, leading to “serious consequences for your business and other financial dealings.” The country’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office said British businesses are also on the lookout for companies that may be doing prohibited business with Russia, and if U.K. companies can’t be "assured" that a foreign firm isn’t involved with Russia, “some UK companies may take a cautious approach (sometimes termed ‘de-risking’) and refuse to do business with you.”
A bipartisan group of five House members, including House Financial Services Committee Chairman French Hill, R-Ark., reintroduced a bill June 26 to create a State Sponsor of Unlawful or Wrongful Detention (SSWD) designation, which would allow the State Department to impose sanctions, arms export restrictions and other penalties on countries that wrongfully detain Americans.
The U.K. on June 26 amended various entries on its Russia sanctions list, the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation announced. The U.K. made changes to entries for 14 people that were originally sanctioned for undermining Ukrainian sovereignty through their work at the Social Design Agency, a Russian social media and marketing firm. OFSI also revised the entries for two entities: Rosneft Marine (UK) and the Main Directorate of Deep-Sea Research of the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation.
The U.S. should quickly move forward with new secondary sanctions against supporters of Russia, government leaders and think tank officials said this week, and they urged the EU to do more to hold Beijing accountable for helping Russia evade sanctions.
An Israeli telecommunications and cybersecurity technology company told the Bureau of Industry and Security that it may have violated export controls against Russia and Belarus.