Canada this week announced another round of sanctions against Russia, targeting two people and six entities that the country said have helped ship weapons, missiles and other military items from North Korea to Russia. Canada said it has “recorded evidence” that the Kremlin used the weapons in its war against Ukraine last year and this year. The two people designated are “senior representatives of Russian enterprises that are closely linked” to the Russian military, and the entities are Russian shipping companies that own or operate planes and cargo vessels that were used to transport the weapons.
U.K. defense minister Grant Shapps said he has evidence that China is supplying Russia with lethal aid for its war in Ukraine.
The U.K. this week issued a new warning to shipowners and brokers seeing large profits from selling older ships to unknown buyers, saying they need to make sure they aren’t selling to a person with ties to Russia or who plans to violate Russian oil sanctions.
A Russian court based in St. Petersburg on May 18 seized nearly $760 million of assets belonging to UniCredit, Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank, according to the Financial Times. A subsidiary of Russian gas giant Gazprom, RusChemAlliance, had told the court that the three western banks must pay bank guarantees under a contract with German firm Linde. RusChemAlliance's contract with Linde, which concerned the construction of a liquified natural gas processing plant and production facility in St. Petersburg, was paused due to EU sanctions on the Russian company.
The European Council on May 21 adopted legal measures to allow profits earned on seized Russian assets to be used to support Ukraine, the council announced May 21. The decision applies specifically to net profits from "unexpected and extraordinary revenues accruing to central securities depositories" as a result of EU sanctions on Russia.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken on May 21 defended the U.S. government's use of sanctions against China, saying the Biden administration resorts to punitive measures only when diplomatic efforts fail to achieve the desired result.
A Virginia-based technology company said it received warning letters from both the Bureau of Industry and Security and the Office of Foreign Assets Control after disclosing possible Russia-related sanctions violations to both agencies last year.
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. on May 17 sanctioned people and companies for their ties to Russia and North Korea, including for helping both countries evade sanctions.
Australia last week sanctioned six entities that it said have ties to North Korea’s supply of weapons and military items to Russia. “Australia condemns, in the strongest possible terms, North Korea’s illegal export and Russia’s procurement and use of North Korean ballistic missiles, in support of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine,” the country said in a May 17 notice. The notice didn’t list the designated entities.