The Office of Foreign Assets Control announced sanctions on eight Russian individuals, six entities, one water vessel and one aircraft. OFAC determined that the property and interests in property subject to U.S. jurisdiction of the designated persons and entities are blocked. The sanctions were pursuant to Executive Order 14024, which targets members of the Russian government, technology sector, and their families and businesses.
Germany is resisting efforts to add Sberbank PJSC to the list of Russian banks barred from using SWIFT, the interbank messaging service, according to diplomats close to the matter, Bloomberg reported March 9. Sberbank was named on the initial list of banks being dropped from SWIFT and holds nearly half of Russian retail deposits. Documents revealed that in recent diplomatic meetings, Germany has repeatedly urged caution over further restrictions on Russia, particularly calling for caution on energy-related restrictions, Bloomberg reported. Gazprombank is another bank that's so far been spared from being removed from SWIFT, the report said.
The U.N. Security Council on March 7 added one entry to its ISIL (Da’esh) and al-Qaida sanctions list. Sanctions now apply to the terrorist group Khatiba al-Tawhid wal-Jihad, which operates in Syria, Turkey, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Egypt, Afghanistan and Ukraine. The State Department sanctioned the group earlier this week (see 2203070059).
Russia plans to soon ban exports of certain commodities and raw materials, The Wall Street Journal reported March 8. President Vladimir Putin will give his cabinet two days to come up with goods subject to the ban, which Russia said will help ensure “the security of the Russian Federation and the uninterrupted functioning of industry,” according to the report. The export ban is expected to last until Dec. 31.
Australia imposed new sanctions against a range of Russia’s “propagandists,” military officials and entities for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the country’s foreign ministry announced March 8. The sanctions target the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and six senior military officials and an additional 11 financial institutions “of economic significance to Russia,” including the country’s central bank. Australia also sanctioned another 10 people that help promote “pro-Kremlin propaganda to legitimize Russia’s invasion.”
The EU launched a Sanctions Whistleblower Tool to aid the reporting of past, ongoing or planned sanctions violations. "It responds to the Commission's ambition to fully support the effective implementation and enforcement of EU sanctions," the commission said March 4. "The EU has more than 40 sanctions regimes in place and their effectiveness relies on their proper implementation and enforcement, including in thwarting circumvention and evasion of sanctions." The platform was announced by the European Commission in January 2021.
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network issued an alert to financial institutions to be vigilant against efforts to evade the sanctions and other restrictions implemented against Russia. FinCEN warned that all financial institutions identify and report suspicious activity associated with potential sanctions evasion, and conduct customer due diligence. The alert highlighted the following activities as possible evasion activities requiring higher scrutiny:
The U.S. has designated Katibat al Tawhid wal Jihad as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist organization. In a March 7 press release, the State Department announced that all property and interests in property of KTJ that are subject to U.S. jurisdiction are blocked, and U.S. persons are prohibited from engaging in any transactions with the group. Foreign institutions that knowingly conduct or facilitate transactions on behalf of KTJ could also be subject to U.S. sanctions. The Office of Foreign Assets Control also added KTJ to the SDN list.
South Korea announced additional sanctions March 7 in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, according to an unofficial translation. The South Korean government said it is joining the international community's sanctions moves by placing restrictions on Russia's Central Bank and sovereign wealth fund along with Rossiya Bank.
Several European countries not in the EU continued to follow the bloc's lead, imposing the sanctions against Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, the European Council said March 4 in a series of three notices. North Macedonia, Montenegro, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Ukraine all imposed the slate of sanctions, which include restrictions on Russia's Central Bank and hundreds of individuals and entities. The council's notices announce the alignment of these countries on freezing Russian banks from SWIFT, the global interbank messaging system; sanctioning Russia's sovereign wealth fund; banning two Russian state-owned media outlets from broadcasting in the EU; and expanding sanctions to many Russian officials and key entities (see 2203020008).