Switzerland listed two individuals under its Russian sanctions regime, adding Ukrainian businessman Serhiy Vitaliyovich Kurchenko and Russian businessman Yevgeniy Viktorovich Prigozhin to the restrictions list, according to an unofficial translation. The EU made the additions on April 21, and Kurchenko is listed under the U.S. and U.K. sanctions regimes, the EU Sanctions blog reported May 11. Prigozhin is listed under the U.K. Libya sanctions regime and the U.S. Russia, cyber and election interference sanctions regimes.
Companies need to stay on top of their compliance because significant escalation of Russia-related sanctions is possible, KPMG experts said. The "dramatic increase in the use of sanctions and other controls" over the past two months will likely continue to expand in complexity, said Jason Rhoades, KPMG senior manager-trade and customs services, during a May 11 webinar. Because Russian behavior toward Ukraine has not changed, "we expect [the use of sanctions] to continue to grow," Rhoades said. "There is significant room still out there for [sanctions] escalation."
Russia this week imposed sanctions against 31 former subsidiaries of state-owned energy company Gazprom, including entities in the U.S., the U.K. and Europe, Russian newspaper Kommersant reported May 11. Among the designations, according to an unofficial translation of the report, are Gazprom Germania GmbH, which recently was taken over by the German government after being abandoned by Gazprom in March (see 2204140012). The sanctions block Russian companies from doing business with the subsidiaries, and vessels associated with the subsidiaries are barred from Russian ports.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on May 11 updated three frequently asked questions related to Russia sanctions. The FAQs clarify what type of services to Russia are blocked under U.S. restrictions.
Japan announced another wave of sanctions on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, placing an asset freeze on 141 people and a ban on exports to 71 Russian entities. The newly sanctioned individuals include Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and 133 politicians from the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine, the Foreign Ministry said, according to an unofficial translation. The restrictions also include a general export ban on advanced technologies to Russia. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida confirmed in a separate announcement that Japan will phase out imports of Russian oil after the G-7, which includes Japan, committed to do the same. The list of the politicians from Donetsk and Luhansk will be listed here and the list of other Russian individuals is here.
Companies should expect the Commerce Department to add more entities to the Entity List for aiding Russia amid its war in Ukraine, said Thea Kendler, the agency’s assistant secretary for export administration. Commerce has so far added more than 100 entities to the list for supporting the Russian and Belarusian militaries (see 2204040006). Kendler, speaking during a May 12 Materials and Equipment Technical Advisory Committee meeting, said the agency is looking at entities in both Russia and Belarus "that may be contributing to the military industrial complex."
The Transportation and Related Equipment Technical Advisory Committee is considering asking the Bureau of Industry and Security for more Russian export control guidance and is hoping to help address the agency's backlog of military end-user license applications, said committee Chair Ari Novis, chief global trade officer for Pratt & Whitney.
The Commerce Department is working with allies to create a new multilateral export control enforcement coordination mechanism to better tighten gaps in global export control regimes, said Matthew Axelrod, the agency’s lead export enforcement official. Axelrod said more enforcement cooperation can strengthen the effectiveness of the controls, particularly for Russia-related restrictions.
The U.K. amended 88 entries under its Russia sanctions regime, the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation said in a May 9 notice. The updates state the reasons for the individuals' and entities' listing on the sanctions regime. Listed individuals include media figures, prominent businesspeople, regime officials and politicians.
The EU plans to drop the piece of its sixth sanctions package on Russia that would have banned EU-owned vessels shipping Russian oil to third countries, according to people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg reported May 9. The proposed ban, part of the sanctions on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, was nixed following pushback from certain EU member states, including Greece, whose economy leans heavily on shipping. Further, a lack of a coherent position from the G-7 nations was at the heart of the proposal being dropped.