The U.K. added 86 new entries to its Russia sanctions list, the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation announced. The listings cover 42 people and 44 entities linked to Russia's energy, metals, defense, transportation and financial sectors, including Oleg Romanenko, head official at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, 13 members of the Gazprom Neft board of directors and five members of the Transneft board of directors.
The Treasury Department ‘understands” the challenges faced by banks, law firms, companies and others in trying to comply with multiple Russian sanctions regimes across the U.S., the EU and elsewhere, and is working to better align those restrictions to alleviate some headaches, said Brian Nelson, Treasury’s undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence. Nelson, speaking during a law conference in Washington last week, said the agency is “working hard” to harmonize “our actions, our targets, the guidance that we're providing so that they are consistent across our jurisdictions.”
Companies should be constantly assessing their export control compliance procedures because of the unprecedented pace of regulatory changes, which makes it “easier to be caught,” said Tamer Soliman, a Mayer Brown trade lawyer, speaking during a law conference hosted by the law firm last week. He said the government is “scrutinizing more and more transactions,” particularly as it tries to target Russian sanctions evasion attempts.
DOJ and Commerce Department are increasingly looking to impose large penalties for significant export control and sanctions violations as part of a mission to incentivize more voluntary disclosures, said Matthew Olsen, DOJ’s assistant attorney general for national security. Olsen, whose agency and Commerce co-lead the new Disruptive Technology Strike Force, said he recently “made a couple of trips to companies directly” to speak with them about their compliance programs, and is hoping to “encourage” them to submit disclosures.
The U.S. announced a host of new Russia-related sanctions and export controls last week, including more than 300 sanctions designations by the Treasury and State departments and an expansion of Commerce Department export controls on items destined to Russia and entities supporting the country’s military. The measures, some of which were coordinated with allies as part of the Group of 7 summit in Japan, aim to “further undermine Russia’s capacity to wage its illegal aggression” in Ukraine, the G-7 countries said in a May 19 joint statement.
The U.S. is preparing to roll out a “substantial package” of new sanctions and export controls against Russia for its war in Ukraine, including by adding about 70 new entities to the Commerce Department’s Entity List and introducing more than 300 new financial sanctions against people, entities, vessels and aircraft, a senior administration official said. The measures, which will be coordinated alongside allies as part of the Group of 7 summit in Japan May 19-21, are aimed at closing “loopholes” used by Russia to evade sanctions and “extensively restricting categories of goods key to the battlefield,” the official said during a May 18 call with reporters.
The Bureau of Industry and Security announced a host of new Russia-related export controls, including measures that expand its Russian and Belarusian Industry Sector Sanctions, broaden its foreign direct product rule restrictions and add 71 new entities to the Entity List. Some of the changes, outlined in a 106-page final rule effective May 19, “better align” U.S. export controls with allies, place new export license requirements on additional “industrial items” and chemicals destined to Russia, and impose controls on certain electrical parts destined to Iran for use in unmanned drones. The Entity List changes, also effective May 19, add entities in Armenia, Kyrgyzstan and Russia for either supporting Russia’s military sector, diverting U.S.-controlled items to Russia or preventing a U.S. end-use check.
China denounced recent U.S. enforcement actions by the Disruptive Technology Strike Force against various Chinese and Russian individuals for allegedly violating sanctions by conspiring to export technology, trade secrets and aircraft parts 2305160047). A spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said May 17 the U.S. "has kept stretching the national security concept to abuse export control regimes and its leading technological advantage," according to a transcript in English of the regular press conference the spokesperson holds with media in Beijing. The spokesperson urged the U.S. to stop suppressing China in the field of technology and using judicial power to target Chinese researchers, adding "China will do what is necessary to firmly safeguard the lawful rights and interests of Chinese citizens."
A series of export control indictments announced this week, including several for illegal shipments to China and Russia, only scratched the surface of prosecutions expected to be brought as part of the new Disruptive Technology Strike Force, said Matthew Axelrod, the Bureau of Industry and Security's top export enforcement official. “It’s just the beginning,” Axelrod said during a May 17 law conference hosted by the American Bar Association, Mayer Brown and American University. “I think you can expect to continue to see actions come out from the strike force as this work continues.”
The U.K. corrected or amended various entries under its Russia, Global Anti-Corruption and Syria sanctions regimes. Under the Russia sanctions list, the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation amended the listing for Roman Nikolaevich Lepa, a member of the Donetsk People's Council. OFSI also corrected the listing for Zvonko Veselinovic under the anti-corruption sanctions regime, and amended the entry for Damascus Cham Holding under the Syria sanctions regime.