The EU added 217 individuals and 18 entities to its fifth sanctions package on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. Announcing the additions April 8, the European Council said they include Kremlin officials, oligarchs and proponents of disinformation surrounding the war in Ukraine. Among them Viatcheslav Moshe Kantor, shareholder of fertilizer company Acron Group; Boris Rotenberg, shareholder of Gazprom Drilling and co-owner of the SGM group; and Oleg Deripaska, owner of Russian Machines and other arms companies. The restrictions also apply to family members of sanctioned individuals.
Some U.S. export control policies are hindering the American semiconductor sector and chip innovation, technology companies and trade groups told the Commerce Department in recent comments (see 2201210024). Commerce can take steps to ease compliance challenges, including around deemed export controls, and make sure to propose narrow and multilateral emerging and foundational technology controls, the commenters said.
Brenda Belinda Barba, a resident of McAllen, Texas, pleaded guilty April 7 to illegally exporting firearms and ammunition, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Texas announced. Barba attempted to export a Glock 9mm and .22 caliber pistols, four Glock pistol magazines and 550 rounds of ammunition of varying caliber to Mexico, the office said. In November, Barba attempted to cross into Mexico at the Anzalduas Port of Entry, telling border authorities that she had nothing to declare. The export-controlled goods were found after an inspection of her vehicle. The defendant will be sentenced July 18 and faces up to 10 years in prison and a maximum $250,000 fine.
A new House bill would allow the U.S. to block and sanction certain crypto exchanges if they facilitate transactions with Russia-based addresses. The Russian Digital Asset Sanctions Compliance Act of 2022, introduced by House Democrats April 6, would be a “significant step towards” restricting crypto exchanges from “providing services for Russia-based cryptocurrency wallets,” the lawmakers said. The bill also would authorize sanctions against anyone that the Treasury Department determines “to be significantly and materially facilitating digital asset transactions in violation of sanctions.” The bill is a companion to Senate legislation introduced in March.
The U.K. added three more names to its Russia sanctions regime following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, an Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation April 8 notice said: Katerina Vladimirovna Tikhonova, Yekaterina Sergeyevna Vinokurova and Maria Vladimirovna Vorontsova. OFSI also amended the entry for Evgeny Alekseevich Fedorov, a member of the State Duma of Russia. All are subject to an assets freeze.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control issued additional sanctions on major Russian state-owned enterprises and five additional general licenses related to Russia. OFAC expanded sanctions against Alrosa, the world's largest diamond mining company, along with United Shipbuilding Corporation, which is responsible for the construction of almost all of Russia’s warships, OFAC said April 7. Alrosa was previously designated in February (see 2202240069).
American farmers on a trade mission in Cuba said U.S. restrictions are still hampering agricultural exports to the island, Reuters reported April 6. Although the U.S. offers carve-outs for certain agricultural products, the farmers said they aren’t competing on a level playing field compared with other foreign suppliers. "We're hamstrung because of this embargo," Paul Johnson, co-chair of the U.S. Agricultural Coalition for Cuba, told Reuters. "We can't compete on even footing with other suppliers around the world, because they can offer credit ... that means a lot." The U.S. Agricultural Coalition for Cuba didn’t comment. A spokesperson for the Treasury Department, which oversees certain Cuba sanctions, declined to comment.
The EU officially adopted its fifth round of sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, banning the import or transfer of Russian coal and other solid fossil fuels. The EU ramped up pressure on Russia following atrocities committed in the Ukrainian city of Bucha, the European Council said April 8.
The Bureau of Industry and Security last week added Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland to the list of countries that have imposed similar export controls against Russia and are excluded from certain license requirements under two recently issued foreign direct product rules (see 2202240069). The additions take effect April 12. BIS previously added South Korea to the list (see 2203040075), which has more than 30 countries.
The Bureau of Industry and Security last week expanded its export license requirements for Russia and Belarus to cover all items on the Commerce Control List, further widening restrictions that previously only applied to categories 3-9 of the CCL (see 2202240069). The revised requirements, which took effect April 8, will now apply to all items in CCL categories 0-2, including nuclear materials, facilities and equipment (Category 0); materials, chemicals, microorganisms and toxins (Category 1); and materials processing equipment (Category 2).