Australia plans to designate Russian gold an “import sanctioned good” under its autonomous sanctions regime, the country said Aug. 15. The designation will restrict imports and transportation of Russian gold by Australians, including gold in unwrought, semi-manufactured or powder forms. Australia said its period of public consultation on the sanctions will close Aug. 29.
The U.S. should better regulate the cryptocurrency industry to increase sanctions compliance, but not in a way that inhibits innovation, companies and trade groups told the Treasury Department in comments released this month. Some commenters said Treasury should issue more guidance to help firms better understand their compliance obligations and help digital assets from being used to evade global sanctions.
The U.K.’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation this week amended 27 entries on its Russia sanctions list. The entries, which include military officials, are still subject to asset freezes.
At least 450 kinds of foreign-made parts and components have been found in Russian military equipment captured in Ukraine since Moscow’s invasion earlier this year, the Royal United Services Institute said in a report this week. The majority of those components were manufactured in the U.S., the think tank said, and at least 80 “different kinds of components” are subject to U.S. export controls.
The U.S. obtained a warrant to seize an airplane owned by sanctioned Russian oligarch Andrei Skoch, DOJ said Aug. 8. The agency said the Airbus A319-100 aircraft was designated by the Office of Foreign Assets Control in June and is owned by Skoch through a series of shell companies and trusts tied to his “romantic partner.” The aircraft is worth more than $90 million, DOJ said.
New Zealand this month issued a new set of sanctions against Russia’s military and weapons manufacturers, including designations targeting various branches and independent arms of the country’s armed forces. The sanctions also target defense entities responsible for providing logistical support and weapons to Russia’s military as well as the Russian insurance company SOGAZ, Russian Railways and defense entities that research, produce and test military hardware.
The Bureau of Industry and Security this week charged a Chinese company with violating U.S. export controls when it helped Zhongxing Telecommunications Equipment Corporation sell controlled items to Iran. The company, Far East Cable, served as a “cutout” between ZTE and several Iranian telecommunications companies, BIS said, helping ZTE “conceal and obfuscate” its business dealings in Iran from U.S. investigators. In total, BIS said Far East Cable committed 18 violations of the Export Administration Regulations.
A U.N. aviation organization last week called on Russia to “immediately cease its infractions of international aviation rules,” including its attempts to acquire aircraft parts in violation of western sanctions. The European Commission applauded the statement from the U.N.’s International Civil Aviation Organization, which informed its 193 member states about “Russia's blatant non-respect of crucial international aviation law.” EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell said the ICAO’s comments point "to another example of Russia's blatant disregard of international rules and standards, putting the lives of people at risk, including Russian citizens.” The EU and others have placed export restrictions on a range of items and services in the aviation sector, and the U.S. has issued several temporary denial orders against Russian airlines for violating U.S. export controls (see 2208020018).
The EU last week sanctioned two additional people associated with Russia’s war in Ukraine. The designations target Viktor Fedorovych Yanukovych, a Russia supporter and former president of Ukraine, and Oleksandr Viktorovych Yanukovych, his son.
Switzerland banned buying, importing or transporting gold and gold products from Russia, it announced in an Aug. 3 sanctions move. The Swiss Federal Council also imposed an asset freeze on Sberbank and carved out two new exceptions from the sanctions regime over agricultural products and oil supplies to third countries. Previously, Switzerland added 54 individuals and nine entities to its Russia sanctions list on July 28. With this week's decision, Switzerland said it's now in line with the EU's sanctions regime.