The European Union applauded the ceasefire agreement in Libya but threatened sanctions if the fighting continues or if the United Nations arms embargo against Libya is violated, the EU said Oct. 25. “The European Union and its Member States call on all international and regional actors to support the Libyan efforts unequivocally, refrain from foreign interference in the Libyan conflict and stop the violations of the UN arms embargo,” the EU said. “In this regard, the EU recalls its instrument of sanctions against possible spoilers.” The EU recently designated a Russian businessman for violating the embargo (see 2010150010).
The European Union sanctioned two people and one entity for a 2015 cyberattack against the German Federal Parliament, the E Council said Oct. 22. The designations target Russian intelligence officers Dmitry Sergeyevich Badin, Igor Olegovich Kostyukov and the “85th Main Centre for Special Services of the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.” The United Kingdom applauded the move and will join the EU in enforcing the sanctions, it said Oct. 22.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned a Russian government research institution behind “destructive malware” that targets industrial safety systems, OFAC said Oct. 23. The designation targeted the State Research Center of the Russian Federation FGUP Central Scientific Research Institute of Chemistry and Mechanics, which was responsible for building tools that led to a Triton malware attack, OFAC said. The institution was sanctioned under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act.
The United Kingdom Office of Financial Sanction Implementation added one person to its Libya sanctions regime, an Oct. 15 notice said. The designation targets Yevgeniy Viktorovich Prigozhin, a Russian businessman with close links to the Wagner Group, for violating the United Nations arms embargo against Libya. The European Union sanctioned Prigozhin last week (see 2010150010).
If elected, Joe Biden will likely continue the U.S.’s strict export control and sanctions policy against China, Venezuela and Russia but may reverse U.S. sanctions against Iran, said Johann Strauss, a trade lawyer with Akin Gump. Biden would also approach trade restrictions more multilaterally as opposed to Trump’s tendency to pursue unilateral restrictions, Strauss said.
The European Union and the United Kingdom sanctioned six Russian Federation officials and one entity for the poisoning of Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny, they said in Oct. 15 news releases. The sanctions target Andrei Veniaminovich Yarin, Sergei Vladilenovich Kiriyenko, Sergei Ivanovich Menyailo, Aleksandr Vasilievich Bortnikov, Pavel Anatolievich Popov and Aleksei Yurievich Krivoruchko. The sanctions also target Russia’s State Scientific Research Institute for Organic Chemistry and Technology.
The European Union on Oct. 15 sanctioned a Russian businessman for violating the United Nations arms embargo against Libya. The sanctions target Yevgeniy Viktorovich Prigozhin, who has “close links” to the Wagner Group, the EU said, a Russian paramilitary organization sanctioned by the U.S. The EU said Prigozhin supports the group’s activities in Libya, including delivering weapons and sending mercenaries into the country. He also is a funder of the Russian Internet Research Agency, which is trying to influence the U.S. presidential election,
The White House released a national strategy for critical and emerging technologies that it said will better synchronize agency efforts amid technology competition with China. The strategy builds on export control efforts carried out by the Commerce Department, a senior administration official said, and will allow government offices to better align their strategies as the U.S. restricts Chinese access to sensitive U.S. technologies.
The United Kingdom Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation on Oct. 9 added one entry to its ISIL (Da’esh) and al-Qaida Organisations sanctions list and corrected 17 entries on its Global Human Rights sanctions list. The U.K. added Jamal Hussein Hassan Zeiniye, leader of the Al-Nusrah Front for the People of the Levant, a terrorist organization, to its ISIL (Da’esh) and al-Qaida sanctions. It also revised identifying information for 17 Saudi, Russian, Myanmar and North Korea related entries. The Saudi individuals were cited for involvement in the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who had been living in exile in the United States, in the Saudi consulate in Turkey.
France, Germany and the United Kingdom called on the European Union to impose sanctions on those responsible for the poisoning of Alexei Navalny, a Russian political opposition leader. France and Germany said Navalny’s poisoning was an “attack on the elementary principles of democracy” and represented a “shocking new use of a chemical weapon,” according to an unofficial translation of an Oct. 7 joint statement. “France and Germany will send their European partners proposals for additional sanctions, the statement said. The U.K. on Oct. 7 said it “stands side by side” with Germany and France. “We will work together with our international partners to take forward sanctions targeting Russian officials and others who are considered responsible for this crime as well those involved in the development of the Novichok chemical weapon programme,” U.K. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said.