A British court last week sentenced two Russians, including one former senior trade official, to prison for violating U.K. sanctions against Russia. The case marks the first conviction in the U.K. for a breach of sanctions under its Russia Sanctions Regulations, the Crown Prosecution Service said.

Rep. Michael Baumgartner, R-Wash., reintroduced a bill April 3 that would require an annual report to Congress on sanctions imposed under the Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act, a 2020 law that aims to address the wrongful detainment of U.S. nationals abroad.

The House Republican Study Committee unveiled a package of sanctions bills April 1 aimed at backing the Trump administration’s efforts to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons and supporting terrorism.

The U.K. said it generally won’t penalize an organization for using a “suspense account” to temporarily record sanctioned assets, the country’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation said in new frequently asked question 145 published this week.

China this week published new rules, effective March 23, for the implementation of its anti-foreign sanctions law, clarifying what types of property Beijing can freeze in response to people and companies that violate the law, who China can target with the restrictions, and more.

The Treasury Department included its Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence (TFI) in the Trump administration’s hiring freeze but is now considering giving it relief from the pause due to its national security role, the department told lawmakers.

The Trump administration plans to build international support for using sanctions to counter Iran’s nuclear weapons program, deputy secretary of state nominee Christopher Landau said March 4.

The Bureau of Industry and Security is facing a backlog of export license applications and a barrage of questions from industry after applications were put on hold earlier this month, although the agency hopes to see processing slowly return to normal as political appointees are put in place, Export Compliance Daily has learned.

Three Senate Democrats, including Senate Banking Committee ranking member Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., have asked the Treasury Department whether it has exempted its Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence (TFI) from the Trump administration’s hiring freeze to ensure TFI can continue to carry out its national security mission.

Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., and Reps. Claudia Tenney, R-N.Y., and Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., introduced a resolution Feb. 13 urging the U.K., France and Germany to reimpose sanctions on Iran for violating its nuclear weapons-related obligations. Tenney said the “snapback” of U.N. sanctions needs to occur before they expire Oct. 18. The sanctions would include export controls, asset freezes and other restrictions on those involved in Iran's nuclear and missile activities. The lawmakers said the European action would complement President Donald Trump's recent efforts to increase Iran sanctions enforcement (see 2502050020).