The U.S. will soon issue a series of new Russian financial restrictions, including full-blocking sanctions on the country’s largest financial institution, Sberbank, and its largest private bank, Alfa Bank, the White House said April 6. The U.S. will also impose full-blocking sanctions against a group of “critical” Russian state-owned entities, Russian government officials, oligarchs and their family members, including President Vladimir Putin’s adult children. President Joe Biden will also issue an executive order blocking new investment in Russia by U.S. people or companies. The U.S. sanctions will be announced alongside similar measures by G7 member states and the EU.
If the Bureau of Industry and Security’s new undersecretary doesn’t quickly prove he can make progress on export controls for foundational technologies, Congress should consider moving the authority to a different agency, said Derek Scissors, a China economics expert with the American Enterprise Institute. Although lawmakers have previously threatened to revoke BIS’s authority under the Export Control Reform Act (see 2111170064 and 2110250035), Scissors said they should wait to first hear whether newly confirmed undersecretary Alan Estevez has a plan to speed up the agency, which has been criticized for moving too slowly on the controls.
The U.K. reached eight settlements over charges relating to unlicensed strategic exports, with the largest one totaling over $3.5 million, it said April 4. The U.K's Export Control Joint Unit said the eight settlements were struck between December and February. The smallest payment was for $1,300 relating to exports of military goods. The $3.5 million settlement also covered unlicensed exports of military goods covered by the U.K.'s 2008 Export Control Order.
The EU General Court annulled the sanctions listing of former Ukrainian President Viktor Fedorovych Yanukovych and his son, Oleksandr Viktorovych Yanukovych, in a pair of March 30 orders. The two were listed in 2014 under the Ukraine sanctions regime in connection with the embezzlement of state funds. The listings were annulled because the EU Council failed to satisfy the Yanukovychs' right to defense and relied on criminal proceedings conducted by Ukrainian authorities that failed to respect effective judicial protection. The two remain subject to an asset freeze, with their sanctions listings renewed until Sept. 6.
Vietnam's Cao Bang Customs plans to build a "green zone" to help prevent and control COVID-19 for import and export activities, the state-run CustomsNews reported April 4. To set up the green zone, Cao Bang Customs will regularly perform COVID-19 tests, ensure closed management of staff at the Ta Lung Border Gate, disinfect imported and exported goods, and implement a freight forwarding plan and disinfection for vehicles carrying imports and exports.
A $90 million yacht owned by sanctioned Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg was seized by Spanish law enforcement at the behest of the U.S., DOJ announced April 4. The 255-foot luxury yacht, the Tango, was subject to forfeiture following the issuance of a seizure warrant filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The warrant alleged that the yacht was subject to forfeiture based on violations of U.S. bank fraud, money laundering and sanctions laws, DOJ said.
Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas, and seven other Republicans, have introduced a bill that would require the administration "respond to a cyberattack either with sanctions or a classified/unclassified report for Congress to explain why they are not acting to create more accountability," Pfluger said in a press release announcing the introduction March 30.
Rep. Dan Meuser, R-Pa., and Rep Susan Wild, D-Pa., introduced a bill that would establish congressional oversight of some U.S. sanctions on Russia. No text has been released yet, and Meuser's office didn't respond to a request for the text by press time.
The U.K. amended one entry under its Russia sanctions regime, altering the listing information for Andrey Anatolyevich Turchak. In another notice, the U.K.'s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation amended two entries under its ISIL (Da'esh) and al-Qaida sanctions regime. OFSI updated the listing information for Emraan Ali and the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant - Khorasan (ISIL-K).
After the Bureau of Industry and Security added 120 entities to its Entity List last week for supporting the Russian and Belarusian militaries (see 2204010080), senior BIS official Thea Kendler said the U.S. won’t “hesitate” to impose more export restrictions.