The U.K. added two entries to its Bosnia and Herzegovina sanctions list and amended three names under its Russia sanctions regime. In one notice, the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation added Zeljka Cvijanovic, president of Republika Srpska, and Milorad Dodik, president of the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats party, to the Bosnia and Herzegovina sanctions regime. In a separate notice, OFSI amended the entries for Evgeny Alekseevich Fedorov, Tigran Organesovich Khudaverdyan and Katerina Vladimirovna Tikhonova.
The EU added 217 individuals and 18 entities to its fifth sanctions package on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. Announcing the additions April 8, the European Council said they include Kremlin officials, oligarchs and proponents of disinformation surrounding the war in Ukraine. Among them Viatcheslav Moshe Kantor, shareholder of fertilizer company Acron Group; Boris Rotenberg, shareholder of Gazprom Drilling and co-owner of the SGM group; and Oleg Deripaska, owner of Russian Machines and other arms companies. The restrictions also apply to family members of sanctioned individuals.
A new House bill would allow the U.S. to block and sanction certain crypto exchanges if they facilitate transactions with Russia-based addresses. The Russian Digital Asset Sanctions Compliance Act of 2022, introduced by House Democrats April 6, would be a “significant step towards” restricting crypto exchanges from “providing services for Russia-based cryptocurrency wallets,” the lawmakers said. The bill also would authorize sanctions against anyone that the Treasury Department determines “to be significantly and materially facilitating digital asset transactions in violation of sanctions.” The bill is a companion to Senate legislation introduced in March.
The U.K. added three more names to its Russia sanctions regime following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, an Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation April 8 notice said: Katerina Vladimirovna Tikhonova, Yekaterina Sergeyevna Vinokurova and Maria Vladimirovna Vorontsova. OFSI also amended the entry for Evgeny Alekseevich Fedorov, a member of the State Duma of Russia. All are subject to an assets freeze.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control issued additional sanctions on major Russian state-owned enterprises and five additional general licenses related to Russia. OFAC expanded sanctions against Alrosa, the world's largest diamond mining company, along with United Shipbuilding Corporation, which is responsible for the construction of almost all of Russia’s warships, OFAC said April 7. Alrosa was previously designated in February (see 2202240069).
The EU officially adopted its fifth round of sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, banning the import or transfer of Russian coal and other solid fossil fuels. The EU ramped up pressure on Russia following atrocities committed in the Ukrainian city of Bucha, the European Council said April 8.
The U.K. issued a new general license related to the mounting Russia sanctions, permitting until May 6 a wind-down period for positions with Credit Bank of Moscow. The license says that an individual can slowly drop its transactions, including closing out of any positions, to which it is a party involving the bank or one of its subsidiaries. The U.K. also updated the general license pertaining to winding down positions with Sberbank. The update said the bank remains under an asset freeze, but payments related to energy products for use in the U.K. can continue to be used.
The U.K. added eight individuals and two entities to its Russia sanctions regime in another move to punish Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. The individuals are Sergei Sergeivich Ivanov; Boris Borisovich Rotenberg; Gazprombank Management Board Chairman Andrey Igorevich Akimov; Public Joint Stock Company Gazprom Neft Management Board Chair Alexander Valeryevich Dyukov; Sergey Anatolyevich Kogogin, director general of Kamaz PJSC; Andrey Grigoryevich Guryev, former deputy board chairman at PJSC PhosAgro; Novatek PJSC Management Board Chairman Leonid Viktorovich Mikhelson; and Viatcheslav Kantor, chairman of the coordinating board of PJSC Acron.
Australia imposed sanctions on an additional 67 Russians for their roles in Moscow’s war in Ukraine, Australia's foreign affairs ministry said April 7. The sanctions, which were levied after reports of alleged war crimes committed by Russian forces in Ukraine, target senior Russian military and government officials. Australia said it now has sanctioned nearly 600 people and entities related to the Russian war in Ukraine (see 2203180006, 2203080008 and 2204050019).
With the administration considering sanctions on Kaspersky Labs, companies should be assessing not only their own use of the Russia-based software vendor’s cybersecurity offerings, but also use by their vendors and suppliers of Kaspersky’s products, law firm Crowell said on April 6.