The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned six Rwandan or Congolese nationals contributing to the “escalation of conflict” in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. OFAC said each belongs to one of four armed groups causing instability in the DRC's eastern portion and committing “serious” human rights abuses.

The State Department this week sanctioned 11 people and two entities for their involvement in forcibly transferring and deporting Ukrainian children from Russia-occupied territories to Russia.

Canada this week sanctioned four people and 29 entities for having “direct ties” to either Russia’s military-industrial complex, its financial industry or its nuclear sectors. Among those designated was a Russian military official associated with the “downing” of the Malaysia Airlines MH17 flight over Russian-controlled territory in 2014. Canada also sanctioned companies making dual-use aviation, marine and special nuclear equipment -- including Promtekhnologiya LLC, which produces weapons for Russian private military company Wagner Group -- and other financial entities linked to the Russian government.

DOJ this week indicted two co-founders of virtual currency mixer Tornado Cash, which it said facilitated more than $1 billion in money laundering transactions for the Lazarus Group, the sanctioned North Korean cybercrime organization. The agency said Roman Storm of Auburn, Washington, and Russian national Roman Semenov knowingly conspired to violate U.S. sanctions.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week expanded its Myanmar sanctions regime to cover the country’s jet fuel sector and sanctioned people and companies involved in procuring and distributing jet fuel to Myanmar’s military regime.

New Zealand this month sanctioned five people and four entities for supporting Russia’s war against Ukraine. The designations target five Belarusian senior military officials providing “strategic military support” to Russia and four Belarusian state-owned companies and financial institutions “providing material or strategic support” to Russia’s war. A list of New Zealand's most recently updated sanctions list can be found here.

The U.N. this month launched an online sanctions research platform, an “independent reference tool for collecting, researching and analyzing global sanction data,” the organization said in a press release. The platform is available in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish and is open to anyone “interested in or working on issues related to sanctions and their impact, with no access or usage restrictions.” The tool is aimed at providing a “comprehensive online repository” for information on sanctions and their impact on human rights.

The U.K.’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation on Aug. 17 amended the entry for Igor Viktorovich Makarov on its Russia sanctions list. The change updated identifying information for Makarov, who supports the Russian government through his work in the country’s energy sector.

Canada announced another set of Russia sanctions last week, designating 15 people and three judicial courts for human rights violations. The designations target senior officials of the Russian government, the judiciary committee, an investigative committee and federally funded courts, including the “notorious” Basmanny District Court. The court has been “directly involved” in human rights abuses against Russian political figures who oppose the government, including Vladimir Kara-Murza and Alexei Navalny, Canada said.

The U.N. Security Council this week amended nine sanctions list entries related to North Korea. The changes updated identifying information for eight people and one entity.