The U.K. on Nov. 28 amended the entry under its Russia sanctions list for Sergey Vladimirovich Mikhailov. The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation changed the listing to say that he's sanctioned due to his former role as director general of the state-affiliated TASS news agency.
The U.K. issued a new general license under its Russia sanctions list, allowing non-sanctioned individuals or entities to continue business operations with Lukoil International, the international business arm of major Russian energy firm Lukoil, and its related subsidiaries. The license runs from Nov. 27 to Feb. 26. Under the license, non-sanctioned parties may make payments to or receive payments from Lukoil and its subsidiaries under any existing or new obligations or contracts, and provide or receive economic resources from Lukoil.
Senate Foreign Relations Committee ranking member Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., and Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., introduced a bill last month that would require the president to sanction foreign entities and individuals who intentionally damage subsea fiber optic cables.
Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Texas, reintroduced a bill Nov. 20 that aims to protect American companies that are sued in federal court for complying with U.S. sanctions and export controls against Russia.
The European Anti-Fraud Office and Europol, the EU's law enforcement agency, announced a new initiative this month to tackle Russia- and Belarus-related sanctions evasion, especially illegal exports of vehicles. The joint effort, called Project Transporter, aims to better support EU member states investigating potential sanctions breaches while bringing together expert investigators from the law enforcement community -- especially customs, police and financial crimes investigators -- to probe vehicle exports to Russia and Belarus.
A client alert this month from law firm Bracewell includes a table of Russian energy-related general licenses recently issued by the U.S., the U.K. and the EU, what they authorize and their expiration dates. The licenses cover certain transactions in light of sanctions against major Russian energy firms Rosneft, Lukoil, their subsidiaries, and other Russia-related transactions (see 2510290011, 2510220012 and 2510230014).
The Trump administration is examining a recommendation by Senate Democrats to sanction Chinese individuals and entities that buy liquefied natural gas from the U.S.-sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 project in Russia, the State Department said in a letter publicly released Nov. 24.
Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., said Nov. 21 that he plans to file a discharge petition to force a House vote on a bill to impose additional sanctions on Russia and new tariffs on countries that buy its oil and gas.
The U.K.'s National Crime Agency said billion-dollar money laundering networks working out of the U.K. bought a bank in Kyrgyzstan to evade sanctions against Russia.
The U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the U.K. and the Netherlands issued a joint alert this month about the risks stemming from bulletproof hosting (BPH) providers, which are internet infrastructure providers that market and lease their infrastructure to cybercriminals, including those subject to sanctions.