The European Commission on Dec. 2 added Russia to its list of high-risk jurisdictions with deficiencies in their anti-money-laundering and counterterrorist financing regimes. EU entities covered by the anti-money-laundering framework are required to apply "enhanced vigilance in transactions involving" jurisdictions added to the list. The commission reviewed Russia for its potential inclusion as a country with "strategic deficiencies in its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing frameworks," since Russia isn't listed by the Financial Action Task Force but its membership is suspended.
The High Court of Singapore will consider whether an arbitral award can be enforced in Singapore in light of U.S. sanctions on the party slated to receive the award. Earlier this month, Judge Thomas Bathurst declined to first and separately consider whether the enforcement of the award is contrary to Singapore's public policy due to the sanctions, opting instead to consider that question along with the other elements of the arbitral dispute.
The World Customs Organization recently announced that it will consider a new explanatory note on the meaning of “price actually paid or payable” for the purposes of customs valuation using transaction value. The proposed explanatory note includes information on forms of payment, direct and indirect payments, adjustments, considerations based on decisions of the WTO Committee on Customs Valuation, and deductions, “such as payments not related to the goods and post-importation charges.” The note “will be submitted for approval to the WCO Council at its June 2026 Sessions,” the WCO said.
The U.K. added new FAQs 170 and 171 to address its most recent general license covering sanctions-related legal services (see 2510230018). The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation said the sanctions license "resets the fees and expense caps," which sit at just over $2.66 million, for covered legal services ranging from Oct. 29, 2025, until the license expires on April 28, 2026. OFSI also amended the license to cover "most UK autonomous sanctions regimes." In addition, it allows permitted payments to be made from abroad into U.K. or certain non-U.K. bank accounts, the agency said.
The U.K. released a new general sanctions license to cover certain legal services from Oct. 29 through April 28. Part A of the license establishes that the payment of legal fees and expenses must be only for legal services relating to the representation of a sanctioned party that was entered into prior to the date of the sanctioned party's designation. Legal fees under Part A can't exceed $2.66 million. Part B lays out the conditions for use of the license for legal services that aren't "based on a prior obligation."
The Council of the European Union on July 23 appointed a new judge to the EU Court of Justice. The council named Bulgaria's Alexander Kornezov to a five-year term that runs until Oct. 6, 2030.
The EU opened arbitration proceedings with Algeria under the EU-Algeria Association Agreement, claiming that Algeria's trade and investment restrictions violate the agreement.
The European Commission on June 17 referred Portugal to the Court of Justice for failing to "fully transpose into national law" the EU directive "laying down the general arrangements for" excise duties on alcohol and alcoholic beverages. All EU member states were required to fully transpose the EU directive regarding the excise duties, yet Portugal has yet to do so, the commission said. The regulation "sets up an EU-wide certification system for small alcohol producers to facilitate their access to lower excise duty rates across the Union" and combats fraud by "clarifying the conditions for the application of the exemptions for alcohol not intended for human consumption." The commission said this "transposition gap" affects the "cross-border trade of alcohol" made by small producers of wine to other member states and of the alcohol not meant for human consumption.
The Council of the EU on June 12 imposed tariffs on agricultural products and fertilizers from Russia and Belarus that weren't subject to the additional customs duties thus far imposed on related products. The council said the goal is to "reduce EU dependence on those imports" and "reduce Russian export revenues" in a bid to limit Russia's ability to fund its war against Ukraine.
The Council of the EU on June 11 appointed one judge to the Court of Justice and seven judges to the General Court. Slovenia's Marko Bosnjak was named to the Court of Justice to replace Marko Ilesic, who passed away, for the remainder of Ilesic's term, which ends Oct. 6, 2027. The council also appointed Italy's Raffaella Pezzuto to a first term on the General Court and renewed the appointments of six other judges: Germany's Johannes Laitenberger and Gabriele Steinfatt, Lithuania's Danute Jociene, Slovenia's Maja Brkan and Damjan Kukovec, and Sweden's Jorgen Hettne. The General Court terms will run from Sept. 1, 2025, to Aug. 31, 2031.