On June 16, the Government of Canada announced an aggressive sanctions package, effective as of June 13, 2025, implementing a number of amendments to the Special Economic Measures (Russia) Regulations (the “Regulations”). These amendments designated a further 116 individuals and entities, which Canada has described as follows: Kremlin enablers and oligarchs, persons involved in the development of sensitive dual-use quantum technology, beneficiaries of the illegal war in Ukraine, ‘Shadow Fleet’ enablers, banks and foreign financial…
On June 10, 2025, the Government of Canada announced the addition of two individuals to the Special Economic Measures (Extremist Settler Violence) Regulation (the “Regulations”). The amended Regulations entered into force the same day. Canada designated Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s Minister of National Security, and Bezalel Smotrich, Israel’s Minister of Finance, for their alleged facilitation of the “expansion of settlements and outposts in the West Bank and “contributing to a more permissive environment for higher…
On 1 June 2025, the revised Swiss Ordinance on Measures against Belarus (“Belarus Ordinance”) entered into force, thereby implementing the EU’s latest Belarus sanctions. These sanctions had been adopted alongside the EU’s 16th sanctions package against Russia on 24 February 2025, which Switzerland implemented on 15 May 2025 (see blog post here). With this revision of the Belarus Ordinance, Switzerland continues to align its sanctions regime against Belarus with the sanctions against Russia, thereby preventing…
Since we published our blog post on the relaxation of the Syria sanctions over the weekend, there have been two more related developments this week: (1) US guidance on the Syria sanctions relaxed on Friday, May 23, and (2) the EU’s move to formally lift nearly all of its remaining sanctions on Syria. United States: Guidance on Syria Sanctions Relaxation On Wednesday, May 28, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) in the US Treasury…