A measure that would impose sanctions on people or companies involved in Russian gold trade could pass as part of a package with the Senate's fiscal year 2023 National Defense Authorization Act. The measure, included as an amendment, would sanction people that “knowingly participated in a significant transaction” involving the “sale, supply, or transfer” of gold to or from Russia and the Russian government or transactions that “otherwise involved gold in which the Government of the Russian Federation had any interest.” The entire package of 75 amendments will be decided with one vote.
The Biden administration wants to improve the effectiveness of multilateral export controls and is building toward the creation of an outbound investment screening regime, the White House said in its national security strategy published this week. Along with a range of domestic and foreign policy issues, the long-awaited strategy outlines the administration’s approach to trade and emerging technologies and its efforts to outcompete in its rivalry with China and continue to sanction Russia.
U.K. businessman Graham Bonham-Carter was indicted Oct. 11 for conspiring to violate U.S. sanctions on Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, wire fraud connected to funding Deripaska's American properties and working to expatriate Deripaska's U.S.-based artwork through misrepresentations, DOJ announced. The charges stem from the work of Task Force KleptoCapture, the law enforcement group tasked with enforcing the U.S.'s sanctions against Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.
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The U.K. on Oct. 6 amended a Russia-related General License covering "basic needs, routine holding and maintenance and the payment of legal fees," the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation said. The amendment alters the license to "allow any payments in connection with the Insolvency Proceedings of VTB Capital plc and its UK subsidiaries."
The European Commission updated its FAQs on the import, purchase and transfer of listed goods related to certain energy-related products to third countries from Russia. The commission said that only some goods shall be allowed to be transferred to third countries to ensure energy security goods, and these include energy products falling under CN codes 4401 (fuel wood) and 4402 (charcoal) and all the items listed in Annex XXII (coal and related products). EU sanctions will not target the trade in agricultural and food products, including wheat and fertilizers, between Russia and third countries, the FAQs said.
After the EU agreed to its eighth sanctions package on Russia over its war in Ukraine (see 2210050053), Russia said the restrictions would come with consequences and could lead to a temporary cut in the country's production of oil. The sanctions package includes a price cap on Russian oil. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, speaking to Bloomberg TV, said Russia won't sell oil to any countries to impose a price cap, Bloomberg reported Oct. 5.
A June joint alert by the Treasury and Commerce departments could signal new government expectations for banking industry sanctions compliance, experts with FTI Consulting said. The alert, which put companies and entities “on notice” about the types of red flags they should be monitoring for potential Russia sanctions and export control evasion tactics (see 2206280056, and 2207130014), may also force some financial institutions to reinforce their compliance and due-diligence processes, they said.
The EU officially imposed its eighth sanctions package on Russia since the invasion of Ukraine, the European Council said Oct. 6. The restrictions, which include a price cap related to the maritime transport of Russian oil to third-party countries, were imposed after Russia's illegal annexation of the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions of Ukraine. The European Commission welcomed official adoption of the restrictions proposed last week (see 2209290025).
The U.K. recently delisted the sanctions listing for Sergei Stanislavovich Yeliseyev and added a listing for Sergei Vladimirovich Yeliseyev, the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation said in a notice. Sergei Stanislavovich Yeliseyev, a vice-admiral of the Russian Navy, was listed on Sept. 26. The delisting is effective Oct. 4, and the individual is no longer subject to an asset freeze. Sergei Vladimirovich Yeliseyev is the deputy prime minister of Kaliningrad and currently serving as the head of the Russian-occupied Kherson oblast. His listing and asset freeze began Oct. 4.