Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., introduced two bills last week that could impose new sanctions and export controls against Iran. The Deterring Iranian Support for Russia in Ukraine and Pre-empting Terrorism Act (Disrupt Act) would require sanctions on Iranian entities that provide military support for Russia’s war in Ukraine and would prevent the president from lifting sanctions on those entities unless Iran “ends its support” of Russia. The Sanctioning Transfers and Outbound Products to Iran Act (Stop Iran Act) would require the Commerce Department to increase export restrictions on Iranian entities that support terrorist activities and would better prevent U.S.-made products and components, including semiconductors, from being used to support Iranian terrorism, Lankford said.
The EU announced details of its 10th sanctions package on Russia over the war in Ukraine. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the proposed restrictions include export bans on over $11.7 billion worth of critical technology and industrial goods, including electronics, specialized vehicles, machine parts, spare parts for trucks and jet engines, and goods used in the construction industry such as antennas or cranes. Von der Leyen said the goal is to have the new sanctions implemented by Feb. 24.
The U.S., the EU and others can take steps to improve how they administer export controls, deliver guidance to industry and more efficiently target dangerous end users, experts said this week. One expert specifically called on the U.S. to revise the Entity List, which should better isolate the worst export control offenders.
A group of European countries not in the EU aligned with two recent sanctions decisions made by the bloc, the European Council announced. On Jan. 30, the council amended the list of individuals and entities subject to its sanctions regime pertaining to those undermining the sovereignty of Ukraine. The countries of North Macedonia, Montenegro, Albania, Ukraine, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway also imposed the decision, the council said Feb. 14.
Russian oil companies drilled more at their oil fields in 2022 than in more than a decade, Bloomberg reported Feb. 14, with "little sign that international sanctions" directly harmed upstream oil operations.
Experts disagreed on the effectiveness of the Russian oil price cap during a Feb. 13 panel discussion hosted by the Atlantic Council.
Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo met with a group of sanctions experts last week to discuss the “effects and successes” of the global sanctions and export controls imposed against Russia, the agency said in a news release. In the “weeks and months ahead,” Adeyemo said the agency will “focus on countering sanctions evasion, including by targeting facilitators and third-country providers that may wittingly or unwittingly help Russia replenish the supplies and material it desperately needs to support its military.” The experts “provided their thoughts on how best to achieve that goal,” Treasury said.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control designated five current or former Bulgarian government officials for "extensive involvement in corruption" in Bulgaria, according to a Feb. 10 press release. OFAC also sanctioned five entities controlled by two of the targeted officials in an action that OFAC said builds on the office's 2021 designations of six Bulgarians and 64 entities (see 2106020026).
The U.K. corrected one entry under its Russia sanctions regime, the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation said in a Feb. 9 notice. The entry for Evgeny Shkolov, deputy board chairman of JSC System Operator of the Unified Energy System, was corrected to add the middle name Mikhailovich to one of his alternate names.
The U.K.'s Department for International Trade's Export Control Joint Unit updated its guidance for supplying professional services to an individual linked with Russia. The guidance now provides an overview of Russia service sanctions and discusses compliance, exceptions and licenses, and professional and business services sanctions in effect since Dec. 16. These banned services include advertising services, architectural and engineering services, auditing services and IT consultancy and design services.