The EU is working on a proposal to use "windfall profits" from its Russian sanctions regime in an aid package for Ukraine, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced Oct. 27. The proposal would pool the assets, which currently are "benefitting a limited number of financial institutions in the" EU, and channel them via the EU budget "en bloc" for Ukraine's reconstruction.
The U.K.'s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation on Oct. 27 updated its general Russian sanctions license permitting payments to sanctioned telecommunication and news media service firms. The update clarifies that PJSC MegaFon and its subsidiaries and Digital Invest Limited Liability Co. are sanctioned civilian telecommunication companies, while also extending the license until May 30, 2026.
The U.K. High Court on Oct. 26 rejected an application from Russian oligarch Mikhail Fridman to overturn the U.K.'s decision to refuse three licenses for payments related to the businessman's property and his management company. The court said the U.K.'s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation legally concluded that a license may not be granted if the payment is made "directly" or "indirectly" to another designated individual or entity.
Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry recently updated its list of common "high-priority" goods barred from being exported to Russia, according to an unofficial translation. The items on the list, updated Oct. 20, include electronics parts, such as integrated circuits and transistors, wireless equipment and cameras. The full list has 45 types of goods, sorted into four tiers based on the level of importance to the Russian government. The move comes about one month after the U.S. and others expanded their list of common high-priority items that exporters and others should closely monitor for potential diversion to Russia (see 2309200031).
The U.K. amended two listings under its Russia sanctions regime, the Office of Foreign Sanctions Implementation announced. The entries for Veniamin Ivanovich Kondratyev, regional governor of Krasnodar territory, and Nikolai Fyodorovna Kondratyuk, member of the Federation Council of Russia, were updated to change the date of birth for Veniamin and to add an alias for Kondratyuk.
The European Council on Oct. 24 amended the sanctions listing for Irina Anatolievna Kostenko under its Russia sanctions regime. The council updated Kostenko's date of birth from April 4, 1974, to May 8, 1967.
The EU General Court on Oct. 25 annulled the listing of the ex-wife of Alfa Group founder Mikhail Fridman, referred to only as "QF" in the opinion, according to an unofficial translation. Originally sanctioned in April 2022, QF was delisted five months later. The court annulled her original listing. QF claimed the European Council based its decision on evidence lacking probative value and erroneously assessed the facts.
The U.K. on Oct. 25 issued a new license under its Russia and Belarus sanctions regimes related to certain legal services payments, replacing the current license that was scheduled to expire Oct. 28 (see 2305010012), according to the EU Sanctions blog. Under the new license, the cap for services based on a prior obligation and services not based on a prior obligation may not exceed 10% of the "amount payable for the professional legal fees and Counsel's fees," or around $60,700, whichever is lower.
The EU on Oct. 18 updated its list of "critical goods" Russia is seeking to acquire in violation of sanctions and export controls, including through third countries. The list includes mainly industrial goods and dual-use items "critical to the development, production or use of" Russian military systems, the EU said. They include hydrogen peroxide, oil filters, cranes, concrete mixers, various machine parts, pressure-reducing valves, electric conductors, motor vehicles and more.
The U.S. and the EU in recent months may have had a breakthrough tracking export-controlled goods being illegally diverted through third countries to Russia, senior sanctions officials said this week. They also said the U.S., the EU and other Group of 7 nations are preparing to take new “legal action” against parties transporting Russian oil using shadow fleets in violation of the price cap.