Federal prosecutor Andrew Adams will lead Task Force KleptoCapture, the interagency group set up to enforce U.S. sanctions against Russia (see 2203020044), Attorney General Merrick Garland announced March 3. Speaking to the ABA Institute on White Collar Crime, Garland also discussed steps DOJ is taking to enforce its recent wave of sanctions measures. Adams is co-chief of the Money Laundering and Transnational Criminal Enterprises Unit for the Office of U.S. Attorney, Southern District of New York, per his LinkedIn profile. Adams has led various asset forfeiture and organized crime cases, touched off by his leadership of a team in 2015 that recovered a Stradivarius violin stolen in 1980, Reuters reported. He also led the prosecution of alleged Russian crime syndicate leader Razhden Shulaya.
The U.K. added two more oligarchs to its Russia sanctions regime following their country's invasion of Ukraine, the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation said in a March 3 notice. Alisher Usmanov and Igor Shuvalov, listed as having close ties to the Kremlin and "significant interests" in the U.K., were added to the sanctions list.
The U.S. last week imposed new export controls on Russia’s oil refinery sector and added 91 entities to the Entity List for supporting Russian security efforts, building on a string of trade restrictions (see 2202240069 and 2203020072) meant to cut Russia off from importing goods to support and fund its military.
The U.S. charged American citizen John "Jack" Hanick with violating U.S. sanctions on Russia related to Russians promoting separatism in Crimea in 2014 via his work for sanctioned Russian oligarch Konstantin Malofeyev, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York said. Hanick was arrested on Feb. 3 in London and faces a maximum of 20 years in prison for the sanctions charge and five years in prison for a false statements charge. The criminal indictment is the first stemming from the 2014 Russia sanctions regime.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control will allow payment of certain taxes and import fees to Russia despite the sanctions imposed on the Russian central bank, national wealth fund and Ministry of Finance on Feb. 28 (see 2202280021). General License 13 authorizes payments of "taxes, fees, or import duties," as well as the purchase or receipt of "permits, licenses, registrations, or certifications" through 12:01 a.m. June 24. Russia's Federal Customs Bureau is part of its Ministry of Finance. The licence was issued March 2 along with General License 14, which authorizes certain activities by an entity that has the "sole function in the transaction" of acting as an "operator of a clearing and settlement system" with certain Russian financial institutions.
The European Council sanctioned 22 Belarusian military officials for their roles in the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Belarus is permitting the Russian military to fire ballistic missiles from Belarus, transport military personnel and heavy weapons and tanks into Ukraine and fly over Belarusian airspace into Ukraine, the council said March 2. The Belarusian military also provides refueling points for the Russian military and stores Russian weapons and equipment. The 22 individuals will be subject to a travel ban and asset freeze.
The Biden administration needs more funding to bolster its sanctions and export controls targeting Russia, the White House told Congress this week. The administration specifically asked for more resources for the Bureau of Industry and Security as it enforces dual-use export restrictions and more staff and funding for the Treasury Department for “sanctions targeting.”
The Office of Foreign Assets Control issued more sanctions on Russian elites and their families who "provide direct and indirect support to the Government of the Russian Federation" by identifying certain property of these persons as blocked. The designees include Alisher Burhanovich Usmanov, Nikolay Burhanovich Tokarev, Yevgeniy Prigozhin, and their families. The sanctions were done "in close coordination with the European Union, United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, the ROK, and Australia," according to the OFAC annoucement.
The Bureau of Industry and Security announced new export controls on Russia’s oil refinery sector and added 91 entities to the Entity List for supporting Russian security or military sectors. The new restrictions, which took effect March 3, build on an extensive set of U.S. sanctions announced within the last week in response to the invasion of Ukraine, meant to cut Russia off from importing goods that help support and fund its military.
President Joe Biden has vowed to continue imposing tough sanctions on Russia, saying that the U.S. and allies will look to seize the property of sanctioned Russian oligarchs and cut Russia’s military off from sensitive technologies. The U.S. and allies will “find and seize your yachts, your luxury apartments, your private jets,” Biden said in a message to Russian oligarchs and government officials during his March 1 State of the Union address. “We are coming for your ill-begotten gains.”