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.”
The U.K.’s Office of Trade Sanctions Implementation officially began accepting formal whistleblower disclosures June 26, the agency said in an email to industry. The U.K. also put in place changes to "help whistleblowers qualify for protections at work when disclosing information about financial, transport, and certain trade sanctions to the relevant department," OTSI said. The agency updated its whistleblower guidance to outline how to make a report and how the government will treat reports.
Five Senate Democrats, including Minority Whip Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, introduced a resolution June 26 urging the Trump administration to sanction Tunisian officials involved in political repression. Individual financial sanctions are among the penalties envisioned. The resolution says Tunisia has recently experienced democratic backsliding, including arrests of political opposition figures. It was referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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.
U.S. and Chinese officials said the two countries are still on pace for Beijing to ease its restrictions over rare earths and for Washington to lift its countermeasures, including export controls.
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 Office of Foreign Assets Control last week renewed a Russia-related general license that authorizes certain civil nuclear energy-related transactions with Russian entities. General License 115B, which replaces 115A, authorizes those transactions with Gazprombank and other financial institutions through 12:01 a.m. EST Dec. 19. The license was scheduled to expire June 30. OFAC also updated several FAQs to reflect the renewal.
President Donald Trump said June 27 he had been working on a plan to remove Iran sanctions, but he decided against the plan after objecting to comments recently made by Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The U.K. is looking to strengthen its export controls and broader trade defense “toolkit” to better guard against economic threats by third countries, the country said in its 100-page trade strategy released last week.
The Bureau of Industry and Security could streamline and strengthen its export license review process by improving its information sharing with other agencies involved in the process, especially the Defense, Energy and State departments, according to a new report by the Government Accountability Office.