The Bureau of Industry and Security June 6 charged Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich with violating U.S. export controls by exporting U.S.-origin aircraft to Russia without the required licenses (see 2202240069). BIS said Abramovich’s planes flew to and from Russia in March, days after the agency announced new export controls on Russia-related aircraft.
The EU officially imposed its sixth sanctions package on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, the European Council announced June 3. The package includes a phased ban on the "purchase, import or transfer" of crude oil and certain petroleum goods from Russia to the EU. The prohibition will take six months for crude oil and eight months for other refined petroleum products. The council also laid out a temporary exception for crude oil imported via pipeline into the EU member states that "suffer from a specific dependence on Russian supplies and have no viable alternative options" -- namely, Hungary, which held up the ban over energy supply concerns (see 2206020016). Bulgaria and Croatia were also granted exceptions for the import of Russian seaborne crude oil and vacuum gas oil, respectively.
The EU imposed restrictive measures on another 12 individuals and eight entities for their role in repressing human rights in Belarus, the European Council announced June 3. The restrictions stand in addition to the EU's sixth sanctions package imposed June 3 and seek to address Belarus' role in the war in Ukraine. The new listings target high ranking state officials, businesspeople and their family members, individuals in the judicial branch and prominent media figures, the council said. The restrictions also target Belaruskali, the country's main potash producer, and its export wing, Belarusian Potash, along with state television and radio broadcasting company Belteleradio. Other companies, including tobacco and public transport vehicle manufacturers, also were listed.
Senior Commerce Department officials traveled to Brussels last week to discuss with the EU ways they can increase coordination on Russia export control enforcement, the agency said June 2. Deputy Secretary Don Graves and Matthew Axelrod, the Bureau of Industry and Security's top export enforcement official, met with several EU officials to build on the “excellent cooperation” under the Trade and Technology Council and “ensure that the enhanced Russia controls are enforced effectively,” Commerce said. The two sides hope to speak “regularly” about export enforcement issues, expand information sharing and support each other’s investigations. They agreed to hold another round of talks this week.
The Bureau of Industry and Security made several changes, corrections and clarifications to its export regulations and added a host of new Russian and Belarusian entities to its Entity List, it said in notices. One change adds a license requirement for certain medicine and food shipments to the two countries, and another change allows BIS to publicize export enforcement charging letters before a case is resolved.
The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority, known as FINMA, will extend its restrictions on the Swiss wing of Russia's largest bank, Sberbank, until August due to "heightened international sanctions and the continuing risks for the bank's liquidity situation," FINMA announced June 1. In March, the financial regulatory agency imposed the restrictions on Sberbank, deferring the bank's obligations for deposits and banning payments and transactions. The restrictions will now carry until Aug. 2, FINMA said.
The EU and the U.K. have agreed to a coordinated ban on insuring ships carrying Russian oil, Financial Times reported May 31. The measure comes after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's statement over the EU's sixth sanctions package on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. Von der Leyen touted a ban on insurance and reinsurance of Russian ships by EU companies along with a ban on 90% of Russian oil imports by the end of 2022 -- a number arrived at in a bid to appease Hungary.
Fiji's Supreme Court delayed a U.S. bid to seize a $325 million superyacht allegedly belonging to a sanctioned Russian billionaire, granting the yacht's registered owner, Millemarin Investments, a temporary stay on a previous ruling that would have allowed the U.S. to seize the ship this week, according to documents from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, Bloomberg reported June 2.
China issued a response to a recent speech by Secretary of State Antony Blinken announcing the U.S. strategy in its China dealings as being to "invest, align and compete." A spokesperson for China's Foreign Ministry said that the U.S. should not kick-start a new identity based on China as a shared enemy and that, while there will inevitably be competition between the world's two largest economies, the relationship cannot be "defined by competition." The spokesperson then shifted to attack the use of U.S. sanctions, decrying the use of national security as a guise for imposing the sanctions and the restrictions' impact on supply chains. "This is not responsible competition, but rather unscrupulous suppression and containment," the spokesperson said. "If the US insists on defining China-US relations by major power competition and pursuing 'I win you lose' policy objectives, it will only push the two countries to confrontation and conflict and lead the world to division and turmoil."
The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls this week posted the minutes and white papers from its April Defense Trade Advisory Group plenary (see 2204290032). The white papers include presentation information and recommendations from three DTAG working groups, including a recommendation for a new International Traffic in Arms Regulation exemption, recommendations for clarifications and corrections to certain ITAR definitions, and a report on ITAR-related challenges for controlled unclassified information.