A group of European countries not in the EU aligned themselves with recent EU sanctions moves under the restrictions regimes pertaining to Ukraine and those threatening the sovereignty of Ukraine, the European Council announced Oct. 26. On Oct. 20, the council added three Iranian individuals and one entity to the Ukraine sanctions regime for supplying the Russian army with Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. The countries of North Macedonia, Montenegro, Albania, Ukraine, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway also implemented the decision, the council said.
DOJ's recent moves charging 11 individuals and various corporate entities for their roles in schemes to evade U.S. sanctions and export controls on Russia signal the government's continuing efforts to "aggressively enforce" restrictions on Russia, law firm Paul Weiss said in an analysis posted online Oct. 26. As a result, multilateral corporations with international supply chains need to ramp up compliance measures and be aware that international cooperation has expanded the reach of U.S. sanctions enforcement, the firm said.
The U.K.'s overseas territories have frozen Russian assets worth over an estimated $9 billion, including $8.4 billion by the Cayman Islands and over $400 million by the British Virgin Islands, the British government said Oct. 26. Releasing its response to the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee June 2022 report, "The cost of complacency: illicit finance and the war in Ukraine," the government also said crown dependencies have frozen assets worth over $1.15 billion, including nearly $2.2 million by the Isle of Man and nearly $5.8 million by Guernsey.
The Paris Court of Appeals ordered the French government to release an impounded yacht owned by EU-sanctioned Russian billionaire Alexey Kuzmichev due to procedural errors made during the vessel's seizure, according to an unofficial translation. Kuzmichev is one of the main shareholders of Russia's Alfa Bank. French customs seized the yacht, called La Petite Ourse, in March following Kuzmichev's addition to the sanctions list. The yacht was moored in Antibes. The French court said the customs agents did not follow correct procedure when searching the vessel, incorrectly relying on an authority that permitted a search in connection with suspected fraud.
The EU released updated guidance on the provision of business services under its Russia sanctions regime, adding an overview table of the EU restrictions on services. The European Commission added five questions to its FAQs about business services, covering how the sectoral scope for IT consultancy services is defined, whether the measures on IT consultancy services hamper the conditions of civil society organization in Russia, which software updates are exempted from the ban on IT consultancy services, what activities are covered on the architectural and engineering services ban and what activities are covered by the ban on legal advisory services.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned nine people and 12 entities this week in an effort to counter "persistent malign influence campaigns and systemic corruption in Moldova" by Russian actors, the agency said.
The U.K. added three Iranian individuals and one Iranian entity to its Russia sanctions regime pertaining to their involvement in sending unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to the Russian military for use in Ukraine, the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation said Oct. 20. The individuals, Saeed Aghajani, head of the Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps Aerospace Force UAV command; Mohammad Bagheri, chairman of the Armed Forces General Staff; and Seyed Hojjatollah Qureishi, head of the Iranian Defense Ministry's Supply and Logistics Division, are subject to an asset freeze and travel ban. OFSI also sanctioned Shahed Aviation Industries, an Iranian UAV manufacturer. The OFSI notice amended the entry for Oleksandr Saulenko, a senior official installed in the Russian administration of Berdyansk in the temporarily controlled area of Zaporizhzhia, regarding date of birth. The U.K.'s move follows the EU's listing of the same individuals and entity (see 2210200014).
The State Department last week released a fact sheet on the impact of global sanctions and export controls on Russia, outlining the “significant and long-lasting consequences” on Russia’s defense industrial base. The fact sheet describes Russia’s struggle to import semiconductors, aircraft parts and weapons and outlines various U.S. restrictions implemented since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February.
The U.S. is considering additional sanctions on both Russia and Iran following Iranian sales and operation of drones in Ukraine, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said, speaking during an Oct. 20 call with reporters. He confirmed that Iranian "military personnel" were on the ground in Crimea assisting Russia in the use of purchased combat drones, adding that Russia has "dozens" of the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and is "likely [to] continue to receive additional shipments in the future."
The EU added three Iranian individuals and one Iranian entity to its sanctions regime pertaining to those threatening the territorial sovereignty of Ukraine, the European Council announced Oct. 20. The individuals and entities helped supply unmanned aerial vehicles used by Russia in its war against Ukraine. The parties were subjected to an asset freeze and travel ban.