Category: Sanctions News

Germany to face wave of bankruptcies amid inflation and Ukraine sanctions

May 9, 2022. The future of Commerzbank’s business in Russia will depend, among other things, on Russia’s behavior and further sanctions, according to Handelsblatt report. Germany’s Commerzbank is preparing for more businesses to fail in Europe’s biggest economy amid high inflation and economic perils exacerbated by Russia’s war in Ukraine. The lender expects provisions for loan losses to rise as…

EU drops plans to ban shipping Russian oil

May 9, 2022. Brussels has shelved its plans to ban the EU shipping industry from carrying Russian crude as it struggles to push through its latest sanctions package because of anxiety among some member states about the economic impact of the measures. A proposal targeting shipping that was introduced last week has been dropped by the European Commission following hard…

Data Leak: How Criminals, Officials, and Sanctioned Politicians Poured Money into Dubai Real Estate

May 7, 2022. A new leak of Dubai property data has exposed just how many foreigners have poured their money into apartments and villas there. The data, which dates from 2020, was obtained by the Center for Advanced Defense Studies (C4ADS), a non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C., that researches international crime and conflict. It was then shared with Norwegian…

6 Russian oligarchs have died in alleged suicides this year

Two Russian oligarchs were found dead last week, within 48 hours of each other. They were found alongside their families in what investigators are labelling murder-suicides. Since the start of 2022, four other Russia-connected oligarchs have mysteriously died by suicide. Here is a list of the Russian oligarchs who have met a mysterious end in 2022 — so far, as…

Russia cuts off gas to Poland and Bulgaria. Who in Europe is next?

Vladimir Putin announced last month that if “unfriendly countries” wanted to continue buying Russian natural gas, they would have to pay in rubles starting April 1. It seems not everyone believed he was serious. Would Russia really turn away profit by refusing payment in other currencies? Apparently so. Many media outlets are calling the move a ‘weaponization’ of the gas…

The most hated cryptocurrency: Why are people flocking to Monero?

Monero, traded as ticker XMR, seems to be the only cryptocurrency able to escape the solid downtrend lately and the approaching hard fork is not the only cause. While it is a definite motivator, there are at least four additional main reasons. The first is obviously the new trend in sanctions. 1. The sanctionsFirst, the west has essentially sanctioned anyone…

The sanctions smoke screen: ongoing business partnerships the press missed

You don’t want to call sanctions a hoax because they legitimately put compliance pressure on our businesses and people. But do they put any pressure on the actual targets? It’s part of our news cycle and even our language to think so. After all, what is a “sanction” if not a punishment for breaking the rules? In a move that…

ExxonMobil suspends Russian Far East LNG project, Interfax reports

ExxonMobil (XOM.N) has suspended its liquefied natural gas project in Russia’s Far East, Interfax news agency quoted a Russian governor as saying on Monday, after the firm announced plans to quit the country following Western sanctions. ExxonMobil said last month it would exit its Russian oil and gas operations, which it had valued at more than $4 billion, and halt…

#S&P Global transacted with sanctioned #Rosneft, took 82k payment & settled for 78k with #OFAC

S&P Global Inc violated Russian sanctions (E.O. 13662) by receiving payment from sanctioned Russian Rosneft. S&P didn’t voluntarily disclose the violation and received $82,500. They settled with OFAC for $78,750. Here’s the press release.

Hydra market taken down by German police and sanctioned by U.S.

Germany shuts down servers for Russian darknet marketplace Hydra and seizes $25.2 million USD in Bitcoin. (WAPO) The illegal marketplace was a Russian-language Darknet platform that had been accessible via the Tor network since at least 2015. Their focus was on trading in illegal narcotics. In addition, data spied out worldwide, forged documents and digital services were offered profitably via…

Australia applies Magnitsky sanctions for first time

  On 29 March 2022, Australia’s Minister for Foreign Affairs (the Minister) designated 39 individuals, including a number of Russian individuals engaged in serious corruption and human rights abuses, using the new powers set out in the Magnitsky sanctions amendments. Targeted financial sanctions and travel bans will apply to these persons from 30 March 2022.  This is the first time…

FCC adds Russia’s Kaspersky & China telecom firms to national security threat list

 – Summary –  Sanctioned by FCC March 25, 2022: AO Kaspersky Lab, China Telecom (Americas) Corp [0728.HK], China Mobile International USA [0941.HK] Previously Sanctioned by FCC: Huawei Technologies Co [HWT.UL], ZTE Corp [000063.SZ], China Telecom Americas (U.S. auth revoked in October 2021), Pacific Networks (U.S. auth revoked Mar 17, 2022), ComNet (U.S. auth revoked Mar 17, 2022), China Unicom [0762.HK]…

“Hostile” countries must now pay for Russian gas in Russian currency, Rubles, Putin says

According to Russian state media, RT, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Western sanctions against his country have dealt a large blow to public trust in th4e U.S. Dollar and the Euro. Putin argued that the penalties showed it “makes no sense anymore” to sell Russian goods in the US and the EU while receiving payment in dollars or euros….

79 HMTreasury entries amended – consolidated list

79 entries have been amended on the consolidated list and remain subject to an asset freeze. On 18 March 2022 the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office updated the UK Sanctions List on GOV.UK. The following provides details of those designated under regulations made under the Sanctions Act. Amendments have been made to entries under the following financial sanctions regimes: Belarus; Chemical Weapons; Cyber, Russia and Zimbabwe. The relevant notices…

UK sanctions Sberbank Monday and loosens restrictions Tuesday

See the License here.

Sanctions Updates: Russia

Feb 26, 2022. (3:31 a.m. CET) SWIFT Preparing to Comply With Russian Measures  “We are engaging with European authorities to understand the details of the entities that will be subject to the new measures,” the organization said in an email. “We are preparing to comply upon legal instruction.” Feb 26, 2022. (2:12 a.m. CET) Elon Musk Activates Starlink Satellites for…