The EU General Court on May 15 rejected the Russian Direct Investment Fund's (RDIF's) challenge to the bloc's prohibition on investing in projects financed by the fund.

The U.K.'s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation on May 16 said it has "withdrawn" its sanctions regime on Burundi, and it's "no longer in force." The sanctions, initially issued in 2015 and last updated in July 2022, include designations for human rights abuses by those who obstructed "the search for a peacefull solution to the political situation in Burundi."

The U.K. on May 17 sanctioned people and companies for their ties to Russia and North Korea, including for helping both countries evade sanctions.

The U.K. on May 16 renewed a general license under its Russian sanctions regime that allows British citizens to buy tickets from a sanctioned party for "flights or rail journeys originating in, or within, Russia." It also authorizes activities "reasonably necessary to effect the purchase of such tickets for flights or rail journeys." The license was scheduled to expire May 23 and now runs until May 23, 2026.

Trade groups representing the ocean freight and logistics industry are warning businesses about a new set of import rules that will soon apply to goods moving into or through Europe. They said companies that don’t comply with the rules when they take effect next month could face shipping disruptions or fines.

The U.K. on May 15 issued an open general export license related to exports of military goods for exhibition. The license includes a list of goods that can be exported to "a destination in any country," except for 91 countries, "providing they are being exported for the purpose of exhibition, and are to be returned to the United Kingdom." The license covers cluster munitions, explosive submunitions, anti-personnel landmines and explosive bomblets, among other products. Countries where the goods may not be shipped include China, Iran, North Korea and others listed on page nine of the license.

Lithuania's customs agency fined an unnamed Lithuanian company over $357,000 for buying and importing goods from sanctioned Russian companies "Nizhnekamsktekhuglerod" and "Nizhnekamskneftekhim," according to an unofficial translation. The former is a technology company, the latter makes synthetic rubber and plastics.

A recent U.K. Supreme Court ruling could have implications for how certain sanctions-related payment issues are treated under force majeure clauses in contracts.

The European Commission on May 14 extended its antidumping duties on birch plywood from Russia to cover goods from Kazakhstan and Turkey. The extension was made after an investigation showed that the duties were being circumvented by "imports transshipped from Russia" to Kazakhstan and Turkey, "or sent for final completion to these countries," before shipment to the EU. The commission said Russian birch plywood makers have been trying to find new ways to sell their goods since imports of birch plywood from Russia were banned after that country's invasion of Ukraine.

A Swiss university said it’s reviewing any possible ongoing cooperation with Iranian researchers after United Against Nuclear Iran said the Iranian military is exploiting partnerships between Iranian universities and Swiss learning institutions to obtain sensitive research and technology (see 2405100023). A spokesperson for Switzerland-based University of Boras said the college “previously collaborated” with an Iranian university mentioned in UANI’s report, but that collaboration ended in 2022.