The Office of Foreign Assets Control on May 3 removed several Russia-related entries from its Specially Designated Nationals List, including Malta- and Russia-based aircraft management company Emperor Aviation Ltd., which was designated in 2022 for providing luxury travel to a Russian government official (see 2211140018). OFAC also removed several aircraft owned by Emperor Aviation from the SDN List.
The U.K. Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation on May 1 published frequently asked questions regarding its sanctions regimes, which are meant to be "supplementary to, and not a replacement for, OFSI's primary guidance." The page includes 91 FAQs covering general sanctions questions, the restriction on Russia, the Russian oil services ban, Libya, general licensing, definitions and crown dependencies and overseas territories. Forty-four FAQs pertain specifically to the Russia sanctions.
Brooklyn, New York, resident Nikolay Grigorev pleaded guilty April 30 for his role in a scheme to illicitly export electronic components from the U.S. to companies linked to the Russian military, DOJ announced.
The Treasury and State departments announced May 1 that they are sanctioning more than 280 entities and people in Russia and third countries for helping Moscow sustain its military industrial base during its war against Ukraine.
Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with the top stories from last week in case you missed them. You can find any article by searching for the title or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
The U.K. added a general license under its Russia and Belarus sanctions regime allowing legal service providers to receive and send payments to and from or on behalf of a sanctioned party. Sanctioned parties are likewise allowed to "pay professional legal fees, Counsel's fees, and/or Expenses to a Law Firm, a Legal Adviser, Counsel or a provider of Expenses for Legal Services which have been provided to that" sanctioned party. The legal fees may not exceed 1 million British pounds "per Law Firm" for the duration of the license, which ends Oct. 28.
Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Roger Marshall, R-Kan., urged the Biden administration April 29 to counter Russia’s use of cryptocurrency to evade U.S. financial sanctions and buy high-tech weaponry for its war against Ukraine.
The U.K. customs agency announced seven settlements with companies for their breaches of sanctions on Russia and export controls, including one exceeding $1.3 million with an unnamed exporter and related to the "export of goods in breach of" the sanctions on Russia.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, in an interview with Reuters, said that while in her view, outright seizure of frozen Russian assets in the U.S. and Europe is justifiable, that's not the only option to put those assets to use to help Ukraine's economy survive the Russian invasion.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control is sanctioning 16 entities, eight people, five vessels and one aircraft for their involvement in the Iranian military’s drone trade, the agency announced April 25.