The U.K. adopted an amendment to its Russian sanctions regime that alters the designation criteria for listing an individual or entity. The new criteria expand the definition of "involved in obtaining a benefit from or supporting the Government of Russia," to include working as a "manager" of or "holding the right, directly or indirectly," to nominate a director, trustee or equivalent of a Russian government-affiliated entity; an entity conducting business as a government affiliate; or an entity conducting business of economic significance to the Russian state.

The U.K.'s new restrictions on investment in Russia entered into force July 19. The measures bar individuals and entities from directly acquiring any ownership interest in Russian land and entities linked with Russia, indirectly acquiring any ownership interest in Russian land and Russia-linked entities for the purpose of making funds available to individuals connected with Russia, and directly or indirectly acquiring any ownership interest in entities with a place of business in Russia. The restrictions further bar individuals and entities from establishing joint ventures with a person linked to Russia, opening representative offices and establishing branches and subsidiaries in Russia, and providing investment services for all of the aforementioned activities.

The Biden administration should sanction Hong Kong government prosecutors for trying political cases and undermining democracy in the region, U.S. lawmakers said in a July 20 letter to the White House. Hong Kong’s Justice Department and criminal prosecutors have played a significant part in “undermining the rule of law and detaining political prisoners” under its so-called national security law (see 2107160030), and have even created a “Special Duties team” to exclusively handle political cases, said the letter, signed by bipartisan members of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China.

The U.K. adopted further Russian sanctions in an amendment to its restrictions that came into force July 15. The changes relate to trade in maritime goods and technology, military goods and technology with non-Russian-government controlled Ukrainian territory, defense and security goods, interception and monitoring services, banknotes, jet fuel and fuel additives, and goods that generate significant revenues for Russia.

President Joe Biden issued a new executive order this week that could lead to new sanctions against terrorist organizations, criminal groups or other “malicious actors” who take hostages. The order authorizes U.S. agencies, including the State Department and Treasury Department, to identify and sanction foreign government officials and others involved in hostage taking of U.S. nationals.

The State Department maintained its designations of the Communist Party of the Philippines New People’s Army and Jaish-e-Mohammed as Foreign Terrorist Organizations, a Federal Register notice said. The agency said circumstances haven’t changed “in such a manner as to warrant revocation of the designation.”

The U.K. dropped two entries from its Russia sanctions regime and amended or corrected four others in a July 15 notice. The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation removed Didier Casimiro and Zeljko Runje from the sanctions regime while amending the entries for Sergei Ivanovich Saenko, Vladimir Leonidovich Sivkovich and Oleg Anatolyevich Voloshyn. OFSI also corrected the entry for diamond mining company Alrosa.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control has issued one new and three updated general licenses related to Russia alongside an update to OFAC's Frequently Asked Questions and a Food Security Fact Sheet, according to a July 14 notice.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week released the texts of two previously issued Ukraine/Russia-related General Licenses. The licenses are GLs 2 and 10, which expired in 2014 and 2016, respectively. The licenses authorized certain wind-down transactions or divestments involving sanctioned Russian entities.

The Treasury Department is seeking feedback to inform its work under a March executive order on illegal uses of cryptocurrencies and other digital assets (see 2203090067). The agency’s request for comments, released last week, asks for feedback on the “general risks” in digital assets financial markets, how businesses are using digital assets and more. The executive order requires several agencies to study how digital assets can be used to evade U.S. and foreign sanctions and affect national security. Comments are due Aug. 8.