On December 22, 2015, the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) announced that it had added 34 parties (i.e., 12 individuals and 22 entities) to the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List (“SDN List”) and 86 entities to the Sectoral Sanctions Identifications List (“SSI List”) under the US Government’s Russia/Ukraine-related Sanctions Program. In a press release, OFAC stated that these designations are part of its continued efforts to counter attempts to circumvent US Russia/Ukraine-related sanctions, to further align US sanctions…
The Council of the European Union has announced today, on 21 December 2015, that the EU is formally extending their economic sanctions against Russia until 31 July 2016. The EU has previously linked the duration of their sanctions to the complete implementation of the Minsk Agreements, which was expected to take place by 31 December 2015. According to the Council’s press release, the extension of the current sanctions is to enable the Council to continue their…
On 16 December 2015, the Export Control (Russia, Crimea and Sevastopol Sanctions) (Amendment) Order 2015 (the “Order”) will come into force in the UK, restricting the provision of assistance relating to the supply of hydrazine and related compounds, which can be used as a high-energy propellant in rockets. The Order amends the Export Control (Russia, Crimea and Sevastopol Sanctions) Order 2014 to provide a requirement for authorisation for the provision of technical assistance, financing or financial assistance related to…
Further to our blog post on 1 October 2015 concerning the EU’s amendment to the arms embargo against Russia, the relevant EU Regulation has today been updated with effect from 9 October 2015. Council Regulation (EU) 2015/1797 amends Council Regulation (EU) 833/2014 to reflect these changes.