Monday, February 13
OFSI extended general license - INT/2022/1710676 which allows the continuation of business operations involving three North American Subsidiaries of Evraz plc (a major Russian steel manufacturer which is majorly owned by Roman Abramovich) through September 30, 2023. (Here)
Tuesday, February 14
HM Revenue and Customs announced that it issued four settlement offers to 4 UK exporters totaling over £3.6 million between November and December of 2022 for unlicensed exports of dual-use goods. (Here)
OFSI updated general license – INT/2022/1839676 by
Extending the validity date through May 23, 2024; and
Allowing UK Persons to purchase tickets from South Caucasus Railway CJSC for passenger rail journeys between Armenia and Georgia and within either of those two countries.
Wednesday, February 15
The UK's government took the following actions to facilitate the flow of humanitarian aid to Syria in the aftermath of last week's earthquake: (press release)
OFSI issued general license - INT/2023/2711256 which allows activities necessary to facilitate humanitarian assistance in relation to earthquake relief efforts in Syria and Turkey (provided some conditions are met); and
Export Control Joint Unit issued a general trade license allowing certain petroleum-related transactions to those conducting earthquake relief efforts in Syria and Turkey.
The UNCS decided to renew for nine months a travel ban and assets freeze imposed on specific individuals and entities in Yemen. (Here)
Following the United States and the United Kingdom, the EU Council modified some of its sanctions regimes to implement the "humanitarian exemptions" adopted in UNSC Resolution 2664 (2022). (Here)
The EU Council extended its sanctions regime against Zimbabwe for another year through February 20, 2024. (Here)
Thursday, February 16
The U.S Department of Justice's National Security Division and the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) announced the creation of the Disruptive Technology Strike Force. The Strike force will bring together experts throughout the U.S. government to target illicit actors, strengthen supply chains and protect critical technological assets from being acquired or used by nation-state adversaries. (Here)
The State Department has designated an additional five individuals and seven family members as subject to visa restrictions (a type of sanction) under section 212(a)(3)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. (Here)
Friday, February 17
BIS announced that it will expedite the processing of export license applications for items needed to aid survivors related to Türkiye and Syria. (Here)
The Recommendations of the Week
OFSI is holding an introductory webinar following on February 28: Understanding OFSI: An Introductory Webinar
We all have heard about China's "unreliable list" over the past couple of months. Now China added Lockheed Martin and a unit of Raytheon Technologies to its unreliable entities list over arms sales to Taiwan. (Here)
Apparently, OFAC started to look into Raiffeisen Bank International's activities in Russia. Check out this report by Reuters to find out more.
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