The U.S. and the EU didn’t appear to make much progress on export controls, investment screening and other pivotal areas of cooperation at the latest Trade and Technology Council meeting this month, experts with the Center for Strategic and International Studies said during a Dec. 12 event. The two sides still look to be closely aligned on Russia controls and sanctions, the speakers said, but until the TTC announces more concrete measures, it remains unclear how similarly they view restrictions on China.
The U.K. added Ramil Rakhmatulovich Ibatullin to its Russia sanctions regime, the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation said in a Dec. 9 notice. Ibatullin, the commander of the 90th Tank Division, is now subject to an asset freeze and travel ban. In addition, OFSI corrected three entries for Maxim Loktev, Igor Yegorov and Denis Manturov.
Canada on Dec. 9 announced new sanctions on people and entities in Russia, Iran and Myanmar for human rights violations. The sanctions target 67 people and nine entities, including 33 current or former Russian senior officials and six entities involved in human rights violations against Russian citizens; 22 people “complicit in gross and systematic human rights violations” in Iran; and 12 people and three entities that “perform key functions on behalf of the Myanmar military regime.”
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Dec. 9. designated "a diverse array" of over 40 people and entities connected to corruption or human rights abuses in recognition of International Anti-Corruption Day and Human Rights Day. The sanctions target people and entities across nine countries, OFAC said.
The U.S. should prepare a range of economic and financial restrictions against China to deter it from invading Taiwan, including new sanctions against Chinese banks and outbound investment restrictions on Chinese technology sectors, said Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska. Sullivan said the sanctions should “go far beyond what has been imposed on Russia” and make clear to Beijing that “no corner of its economy will be left untouched by sanctions.”
European Securities Stakeholder Group Asks for Guidance on Maintaining Asset Rights in Russian Firms
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA's) Securities and Markets Stakeholder Group (SMSG) recently released a paper on the geopolitical risks surrounding depositary receipts. The SMSG looked into the effect of both EU and Russian sanctions on DRs and asks for guidance and a harmonized approach from the ESMA and European Commission over how EU citizens can maintain their asset rights in Russian companies.
Andrii Derkach, a Ukrainian national, was charged under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act with conspiracy to violate U.S. sanctions on Russia, DOJ announced. Per the indictment unsealed Dec. 7 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, Derkach is accused of bank fraud conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy and four counts of money laundering relating to the purchase of two California condominiums. The charges, along with forfeiture action taken on the condominiums, mark the first use of "criminal and forfeiture powers targeting the concealment of ownership by senior foreign political officials" as part of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2021, DOJ said.
The Treasury Department will prioritize most enforcement of its price cap on Russian oil against “willful violators,” a senior agency official stressed this week, reminding industry that due diligence and recordkeeping could significantly mitigate any potential penalties. Elizabeth Rosenberg, Treasury’s assistant secretary for terrorist financing and financial crimes, said the agency established its safe harbor protocol (see 2211230047) so it can target service providers intentionally looking to support Russia’s oil industry and protect those conducting good-faith sanctions compliance.
Officials from the EU, the U.S., the U.K. and Japan met this week to discuss export controls against Russia and ways to expand existing restrictions to further damage Russia’s economy, said Denis Redonnet, the EU’s chief trade enforcement officer. Redonnet, speaking Dec. 6 at the EU’s annual export control forum, said the bloc used the forum as a backdrop to hold “bilateral, quad collective meetings” to look at “possible additional sanctions measures going forward” and to examine ways the countries can better enforce existing measures.
The U.K. is looking to expand its Russia sanctions to target additional services in a bid to further damage the country’s military and economy, said Ros Lynch, the U.K.’s deputy director for sanctions policy. Lynch, speaking during the EU’s annual export control forum this week, said the U.K. already has imposed restrictions on some legal advisory, engineering and consulting services (see 2210030016) but said more needs to be done, including by other G-7 countries.