The European Council on Feb. 12 told central securities depositories that hold more than $1.07 million in assets from the Central Bank of Russia that they "must account [for] extraordinary cash balances accumulating due to EU restrictive measures separately." The depositories also must keep the related revenues separate, the council said, adding that the depositories are barred from "disposing of the ensuing net profits."
The U.K.'s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation in 2024 is transitioning to a new "Sanctions Digital Guidance" format instead of its usual PDF guidance, the agency announced in a Feb. 13 blog post. The switch will allow for greater navigation, responsiveness, accessibility and compatibility, making the guidance available on any device, OFSI said. The transition will happen "throughout 2024," and during this time, interested parties will find sanctions guidance as a mix of digital and legacy PDFs. The agency kicked off the transition by making its general guidance available through the digital platform.
Bridget McGovern, former assistant secretary for trade and economic security at DHS, joined Squire Patton as a partner in the public policy practice, the firm announced. McGovern will focus on national security and trade issues, including reviews by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. She worked for over two years at DHS, where she served as an agency representative to CFIUS and helped implement the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Entity List.
World Trade Organization Deputy Director-General Angela Ellard said that priorities for the 13th Ministerial Conference, which takes place Feb. 26-29 in Abu Dhabi, are negotiating the second wave of the fisheries subsidies agreement, extending the e-commerce moratorium and continuing conversations on WTO reform.
Indonesia requested dispute consultations at the World Trade Organization on Feb. 12 regarding the EU's antidumping duties on fatty acids from Indonesia, the WTO announced. Indonesia said the duties violate the WTO's Anti-Dumping Agreement and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. The request formally starts the dispute and sets up both parties to start a 60-day consultation period. Should consultations prove unsuccessful, "the complainant may request adjudication by a panel," the WTO said. The dispute concerns fatty acids, which are used in a "variety of consumer products as well as industrial lubricants."
The U.K. on Feb. 12 added four Israeli citizens to its Global Human Rights sanctions regime. The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation added Zvi Bar Yosef, Ely Federman, Yinon Levy and Moshe Sharvit for committing human rights abuses against Palestinian individuals in the West Bank.
Kristina Puzyreva, a Russian and Canadian national, pleaded guilty on Feb. 12 to conspiracy to commit money laundering for her role in a scheme to export unnamed aerial vehicle parts, guided missile system components and other weapons to sanctioned Russian entities, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York announced. She faces up to 20 years in prison.
The European Commission launched an investigation on whether safeguard duties on certain steel products should be extended beyond June 30, the Directorate-General for Trade announced. Under World Trade Organization rules, the commission will be able to extend the duties for only another two years. The rules allow safeguard measures for a maximum of eight years, which in this instance would be June 30, 2026.
The EU General Court on Feb. 7 dismissed sanctions removal applications from Russians Alisher Usmanov and Igor Shuvalov, according to an unofficial translation.
Cyprus is working to establish a "National Sanctions Implementation Unit" by the end of 2024 after a project manager and a group of experts were appointed to help set up the agency, the Ministry of Finance announced Feb. 5, according to an unofficial translation. The new enforcement body will seek to enforce sanctions laws and boost the existing legislative framework.