The U.K. on June 26 extended until March 31 its General License under the Russian sanctions regime permitting the continuation of business operations with Evraz's North American subsidiaries.
The U.K. on June 23 amended three entries under its Russia sanctions regime. The changes affected the listings for Demetris Ioannides, Meritservus managing director; Dmitry Alexandrovich Pumpyansky, former board chairman for Tube Metallurgical Company; and Pumpyansky's wife, Galina Evgenyevna Pumpyanskaya.
The EU levied its 11th sanctions package against Russia June 23, imposing a host of new export restrictions, individual designations and "new tools to counter circumvention and information warfare," the European Council announced. The new designations target 71 people and 33 entities involved in military activities, political decision-making, the spread of disinformation, the forced adoption of Ukrainian children to Russia and Russian information technology companies offering technology to Russian intelligence agencies.
A bipartisan bill introduced in the Senate this week could allow the U.S. to better target sanctions evasion by rewarding information leading to the arrest or conviction of evaders. The Sanctions Evasion Whistleblower Rewards Act, introduced in part by Sen. Jim Risch of Idaho, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, would expand the State Department’s Rewards for Justice program to offer rewards for “information about the identity or location of individuals and entities that defy sanctions imposed” by the U.S. or the U.N., the lawmakers said.
The U.K.'s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation on June 20 amended its general license covering humanitarian assistance in Ukraine. OFSI updated the definition of "non-government controlled Ukrainian territory" to include the oblasts of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. The agency also added nine entities to its "Designated Financial Institution" list: Bank St Petersburg PJSC, Bank Uralsib PJSC, MTS Bank PJSC, Bank Zenit PJSC, Bank DOM.RF, Rosbank PJSC, Tinkoff Bank, Russian Regional Development Bank and PJSC JSCB Metallinvestbank.
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A Latvia-based bank reached a $3.4 million settlement with the Office of Foreign Assets Control to resolve allegations it violated U.S. sanctions relating to Crimea, OFAC said June 20. Swedbank Latvia AS, a subsidiary of Sweden-based Swedbank AB, allowed a customer to use its e-banking platform from an internet protocol address in Crimea to send payments to persons in Crimea through U.S. correspondent banks, OFAC said, which resulted in 386 violations of U.S. sanctions.
Lawmakers reintroduced a bipartisan bill in the Senate and House this week that could help the U.S. use sanctioned Russian assets to assist with Ukraine’s reconstruction efforts. The Rebuilding Economic Prosperity and Opportunity for Ukrainians Act also would block the release of sanctioned Russian funds until Moscow withdraws from Ukraine and agrees to provide compensation for the damage it caused, and it also would give the State Department more resources to coordinate with allies about confiscating Russian assets.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week updated a Russia-related entry on its Specially Designated Nationals List. The entry is Hong Kong-based Gold Miles Limited, which was sanctioned in May as part of the Biden administration’s rollout of more than 300 new designations targeting supporters of Russia (see 2305190059). Gold Miles was designated for being owned by Irish national John Desmond Hanafin, founder of a company that OFAC said has helped move Russian money into the United Arab Emirates to protect it from Western sanctions.
The U.K.’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation this week issued a new license, which took effect June 14 and has no expiration date, that authorizes certain trades in derivatives and futures “in connection with activities” that would otherwise violate the price cap on Russian oil. The license also authorizes certain financial institutions to “process payments in relation” to those trades.