A group of countries aligned with the EU's third wave of sanctions on Russia and Belarus following their full-scale assault on Ukraine. On March 9, the European Council added 160 individuals to the list of parties subject to the sanctions. The countries of North Macedonia, Montenegro, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Ukraine also imposed that decision, the council said. Those same countries further implemented the council's decisions to restrict the export of maritime navigation goods and technology to Russia, expand the list of legal individuals and entities subject to the ban on investment services and transferable securities, and impose additional sectoral measures against the Belarusian financial sector.

The State Department this week released a report to Congress of people in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua who may be engaging in corruption or undermining democratic processes. The individuals, who include senior government officials, will be subject to visa restrictions and could face other sanctions.

In response to the deluge of sanctions imposed on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, Russia announced sanctions of its own against President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other Americans. The 13 U.S. officials and other individuals listed by the Foreign Ministry also include Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley, according to an unofficial translation. Russia also sanctioned Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and 312 other Canadian officials. The measures include a travel ban and asset freeze.

New Zealand this month approved sanctions against Russia for the country's invasion of Ukraine, marking the first time New Zealand has imposed sanctions outside of the U.N. The country's new Russia Sanctions Act will allow it to "severely limit Russia’s ability to finance and equip the war on Ukraine" by freezing sanctioned people's assets in New Zealand, preventing companies from moving money to New Zealand and more, the country's foreign affairs ministry said. The U.S. State Department March 14 applauded the move, saying the law will "ensure Russia cannot use New Zealand to circumvent sanctions imposed by the international community."

The Office of Foreign Assets Control added 15 Russian and Belarusian individuals and one entity to the Specially Designated Nationals list, it said in a March 15 announcement. Four individuals and one entity were listed under Magnitsky Act designations for "gross human rights violations" involving events surrounding the death of renowned Russian whistleblower Sergei Magnitsky" or against Russian human rights defender Oyub Titiev. In a separate press release, OFAC lists sanctions blocking the property of President Alyaksandr Lukashenka of Belarus, Judge Natalia Mushnikova, Nurid Salamov, and Dzhabrail Akhmatov in connection with human rights abuses in Russia and Belarus. The State Department also announced sanctions in a second notice, listing 11 Russian military leaders "who operate or have operated in the defense and related materiel sector of the Russian Federation economy." OFAC Director Andrea Gacki said the designations, "demonstrate the United States will continue to impose concrete and significant consequences for those who engage in corruption or are connected to gross violations of human rights."

The U.K. announced a new wave of restrictions on Russia and Belarus following their invasion of Ukraine, adding 350 individuals to the restrictions list and banning the export of luxury goods to Russia. The listed parties include members of the Federation Council of Russia, per the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation's notice. OFSI also amended the entries for Anatoly Vyborny and Aleksei Chaliy.

The EU levied its fourth wave of restrictions on Russia following its full-scale assault on Ukraine. The measures ban all transactions with various state-owned enterprises, bar the services of all Russian credit rating services, add to the list of sanctioned individuals relating to Russia's defense sector and general economy, and ban new investments in the Russian energy sector, the European Council said March 15. The prohibition on credit rating services applies also to any subscription services relating to credit rating activities. The restrictions on the Russian energy sector will introduce a "comprehensive export restriction" on goods and services for the energy industry.

A group of countries has aligned their policies with recent EU sanctions decision on Russia and Belarus in response to their invasion of Ukraine, the European Council said in a pair of announcements. The countries of North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Ukraine brought their sanctions regimes in line with the EU's following the EU's sanctions decisions on March 2 and 3. Those moves added more individuals and entities to the Belarus sanctions regime (see 2203030013).

Italy seized a $580 million superyacht owned by Russian oligarch Andrey Melnichenko, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi's office announced, Bloomberg reported. The ship was nabbed in the port of Trieste in Northern Italy. Melnichenko was sanctioned by the EU following Russia's invasion of Ukraine due to his status as a prominent Russian businessman involved in economic sectors that provide a substantial source of revenue to the Russian government. Melnichenko founded fertilizer and agricultural products manufacturer EuroChem and coal company Suek. After the sanctions were imposed March 9, he left his board positions at both companies, Bloomberg reported.

Israel’s foreign minister said the country will not help Russia evade Western sanctions, according to a March 14 Washington Post report. Some Russian oligarchs had considered traveling to Israel to use it as a “haven for sanctions evasion,” the report said, such as Roman Abramovich, sanctioned by the U.K. earlier this month (see 2203100021). But Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said March 14 “Israel will not be a route to bypass sanctions imposed on Russia by the United States and other Western countries.”