Russian citizen and Hong Kong resident Maxim Marchenko recently pleaded guilty to money laundering and smuggling after DOJ said he helped illegally ship U.S. dual-use microelectronics with military applications to Russia. Maxim was charged in September as part of a scheme that used shell companies to illegally source export-controlled items from the U.S. by giving false information to American distributors (see 2309190063).
Canada on March 3 sanctioned six Russian officials connected to the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny in a prison last month. All six are senior officials of Russia’s “prosecution, judicial and correctional services who were involved in the violation of Mr. Navalny’s human rights, his cruel punishment and ultimately, his death,” Canada said. The designations target Vadim Konstantinovich Kalinin, Alexandr Vladimirovich Varapaev, Igor Borisovich Rakitin, Marina Andreyevna Bobek, Yekaterina Sergeyevna Frolova, Kirill Sergeevich Nikiforov.
The U.K. corrected one entry under its Russia sanctions regime and one under its ISIL (Da'esh) and al-Qaida restrictions list, in a pair of March 1 notices. Under the Russia regime, the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation corrected the national identification number for Vladimir Vladimirovich Mikheychik, general director of 224th Flight Unit State Airlines. Under the ISIL regime, OFSI added the U.N. reference number for Khatiba Al-Tawhid Wal-Jihad (KTJ), a terrorist organization under the Al-Nusrah Front for the People of the Levant.
An British court of appeals declined to hear one appeal, and found in favor of the government in another, in cases regarding U.K. sanctions on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.
The EU should create a new legal regime to allow European countries to seize frozen Russian assets and use those assets to help rebuild Ukraine, the European Parliament said in a resolution last week. The resolution, which passed 451-46 with 49 abstentions, "underlines" that Russia “must be obliged to pay reparations” to Ukraine. The idea also has support from U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen 2402270043).
Australia on March 1 issued another round of sanctions against Russian prison officials with ties to opposition figure Alexei Navalny's death (see 2402280017). The new designations apply to three Russian officials “linked to the prison” where Navalny died last month, the country’s ministry of foreign affairs said. Australia said it holds President Vladimir Putin and the Russian government “responsible for Mr Navalny’s treatment and death in prison” and called for “an independent and transparent investigation” into the issue. The announcement didn’t name the sanctioned prison officials.
The Financial Action Task Force recently updated its list of jurisdictions with “deficiencies” in combating terrorism financing, weapons proliferation and other sanctions-related issues, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network said Feb. 29. The FATF added Kenya and Namibia to its list of "Jurisdictions Under Increased Monitoring" and removed Barbados, Gibraltar, Uganda and the United Arab Emirates from that list. The FATF’s list of "High-Risk Jurisdictions Subject to a Call for Action" remains the same and still lists Iran, North Korea and Myanmar.
Several companies recently disclosed potential export control or sanctions violations or updated the status of their current disclosures, including several technology businesses, a pharmaceutical company and a cryptocurrency software platform company. The disclosures describe potential violations of U.S. sanctions against several countries -- including Russia, Iran and North Korea -- and one company receiving a no-action letter from the Office of Foreign Assets Control.
The U.K. issued a new general license under its Russia sanctions regime authorizing certain payments by people who "owe monies to a designated person as a result of a Court Order." The license took effect Feb. 29.
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York last week charged Russian oligarch Andrey Kostin, along with Russian national Vadim Wolfson of Austin, Texas, and U.S. citizen Gannon Bond of Edgewater, New Jersey, with conspiracy to violate U.S. sanctions on Russia by providing "funds, goods, and services" to Kostin, a sanctioned party, it said in a news release. (U.S. v. Andrey Kostin, S.D.N.Y. # 24-00091).