On June 8, 2021, President Biden signed Executive Order 14033 “Blocking Property and Suspending Entry Into the United States of Certain Persons Contributing to the Destabilizing Situation in the Western Balkans” (“EO 14033”), expanding the sanctions regime related to the Western Balkans. The White House also issued a fact sheet that details the US administration’s policy goals. US State Secretary Antony Blinken also issued a statement emphasizing the role that EO 14033 serves in modernizing…
On 21 June 2021, the EU and UK announced coordinated sanctions against specified Belarusian individuals and entities. This follows the forced landing of a commercial aircraft in Belarus and subsequent detention of a Belarusian journalist, and suggests that the UK is continuing to align its sanctions regime with key allies following Brexit. The sanctions were further coordinated with the US and Canada. The designated parties will be subject to asset freezes, whilst individuals will be…
On May 28, 2021, the Biden Administration issued a press release (“Press Release”) confirming the re-imposition of sanctions on certain Belarusian state-owned enterprises (“SOEs”) (presaged by the issuance of wind down Belarus General License 2H on April 19, 2021) and suspending the application of the 2019 US-Belarus Air Services Agreement (“2019 USB Agreement”) in response to the Belarusian government’s apparent forced diversion of a commercial flight to Minsk on May 23. The Press Release also…
In brief On 17 May 2021, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) issued an additional round of sanctions pursuant to Executive Order 14014 “Blocking Property with Respect to the Situation in Burma” (“EO 14014”). It designates and adds the State Administrative Council (“SAC”), four individual members of the SAC, seven SAC-appointed ministers, the SAC-appointed governor of the Central Bank of Myanmar (“CBM”), the SAC-appointed chairman of the Union Election…