On Friday, August 1, 2014, the US Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) issued an advance copy of a final rule amending the Export Administration Regulations (“EAR”) by, among other things, imposing significant new restrictions on exports, reexports, and in-country transfers of certain goods, software, technology, and data for use in Russia’s oil and gas sector related to deepwater, Arctic offshore, and shale exploration and production operations (the “EAR Amendments”). The EAR…

Effective Tuesday, July 29, 2014, the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) announced an expansion of sanctions related to the crisis in Ukraine by designating a Russian shipbuilding company as a “Specially Designated National” (“SDN”) and by adding three Russian banks to the list of entities subject to OFAC’s sectoral sanctions targeting parties operating in certain sectors of the Russian economy. On the same day, the US Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry…

On Wednesday, 16 July 2014, the Office of Foreign Assets Control in the US Treasury Department announced new sectoral sanctions targeting Russia’s financial services and energy sectors and a sixth group of “Specially Designated Nationals” related to the crisis in Ukraine with the designation of 11 entities and 5 individuals in Crimea and Russia. On the same day, the Bureau of Industry and Security in the US Commerce Department also announced plans to add the…

On Friday, 20 June 2014, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) in the US Treasury Department announced its fifth group of “Specially Designated Nationals” (“SDNs”) related to the crisis in Ukraine and added seven individuals in Ukraine to the US SDN List pursuant to Executive Order 13660. “U.S. Persons” are now prohibited from dealing (directly or indirectly) with these SDNs and any entities owned 50% or more by any of these SDNs. “U.S. Persons”…