Switzerland sanctioned six individuals and three entities linked to the private Russian military organization the Wagner Group, aligning it with EU actions. Now subject to Switzerland's Russia sanctions list are Dimitriy Valerievich Utkin, Denis Yurievich Kharitonov and Sergey Vladimirovich Shcherbakov, while Aleksandr Sergeevich Kuznetsov was added to the Libya sanctions list. Andrey Nikolaevich Troshev, Andrey Mikhailovich Bogatov, Velada LLC, Mercury LLC and Evro Polis LLC were added to Switzerland's Syria sanctions list. In imposing its sanctions in December 2021, the EU said the Wagner Group has trained and sent private military operatives to hot spots around the world to fuel violence and intimidate civilians, among other things, in violation of international law (see 2112130009).
toSearch Primer
Multi-word term: Place inside quotes to ensure an exact match together (e.g. "China import").
Term list: Separate terms with spaces, not commas or semicolons to find either word (e.g. AD/CVD antidumping).
Acronyms: Use all capital letters (e.g., ACE).
Required term: If a term must be included in any resulting articles, prefix it with a plus sign (e.g., CBP +releases).
Excluded term: If a term should be excluded from any articles being found, prefix it with a minus sign (e.g., -ruling).
Singular form: Use the singular form when doing multi-word terms (e.g. "russian export control" instead of "russian export controls").
Shortest word form: When you have different word forms in a quoted term, include the shortest version if it is the last part of the expression (e.g., "entity list" instead of "entity listing" or "entity listed").
The European Union extended its economic sanctions targeting certain economic sectors in Russia relating to the situation in Ukraine for another six months, until July 31, the European Council said Jan. 13. The sanctions were initially imposed in 2014 following Russia's failure to fully implement the Minsk Agreements that were negotiated to end fighting in the Donbas region of Ukraine. As part of this sanctions regime, the EU has also imposed individual restrictive measures in response to Russia's annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol along with its destabilization efforts toward Ukraine.
The Russian Arbitration Association released the results of its survey looking into the impact of sanctions on commercial arbitration. The survey results showed that 21% of the respondents said they were aware of situations wherein arbitration institutions refused to administer cases due to sanctions and that 5% of respondents said they knew of cases wherein these institutions or their banks were unable to accept payments from sanctioned individuals or entities. Sixty-nine percent of the respondents reported using neutral currencies for contract payments, and 18% said they knew of cases wherein arbitrators refused to act in a case that involved a sanctioned party. RAA said the survey was "conducted among 182 respondents from various jurisdictions."
Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas, the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, criticized the Senate’s decision last week to not pass a bill that would have required new sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, saying it sends a “message of appeasement” to Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Senate couldn’t reach the 60-vote threshold required to pass the bill after the White House convinced many Democrats to vote against the legislation, which it said would have undermined unity with Europe (see 2201130067).
A bill that would have imposed sanctions on companies associated with the Russia-backed Nord Stream 2 pipeline was rejected by the Senate Jan. 13 after it failed to garner the necessary 60 votes to pass. The bill, introduced in December by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Tex. (see 2201110059), faced strong opposition from the White House, which said before the vote that the bill would “only serve to undermine unity amongst our European allies,” including Germany (see 2201110059).
Republicans and Democrats this week urged two State Department nominees to work transparently with Congress so lawmakers can perform better sanctions oversight, which they say has been a major hurdle during the last year. The Biden administration has been unhelpful in responses to some congressional sanctions queries, the lawmakers said, which has led to disagreements and confusion surrounding U.S. sanctions against Nord Stream 2 and some country-specific regimes.
The U.S. on Jan. 12 sanctioned seven people and one entity for helping to procure goods for North Korea’s weapons and missile programs. The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned Russia-based North Korean national Choe Myong Hyon and four China-based North Korean weapons procurement officials: Sim Kwang Sok, Kim Song Hun, Kang Chol Hak and Pyon Kwang Chol. The State Department sanctioned North Korean national O Yong Ho, Russian national Roman Anatolyevich Alar and Russian entity Parsek LLC for helping to deliver weapons materials to North Korea. OFAC said the sanctions follow North Korea’s six missile launches since September, which violated U.N. Security Council resolutions.
More than 25 Senate Democrats introduced a bill this week that would impose a host of sweeping new sanctions against Russia -- including new restrictions on Russian debt, dealings with government officials and banks -- if Russia further invades Ukraine. The legislation, led by Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., would also require the administration to expedite deliveries of defense shipments to Ukraine and would authorize new sanctions on certain financial messaging service providers and Russia’s energy and mineral extraction industries.
Lawmakers are expected to vote this week on a bill from Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, that would sanction companies associated with the Russia-backed Nord Stream 2 pipeline to punish Russia for threatening to further invade Ukraine. But an alternative bill from Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., could instead impose a host of broad economic penalties against Russia’s banking sector and various government officials.
Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with the top 20 stories published in 2021 in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference numbers.