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#LUXEMBOURG — The European Commission will look into ways to deal with Russia's shadow oil fleet as part of the next package of sanctions, #Sweden's Foreign Minister Tobias Billström said in an interview Monday. The shadow fleet, which consists of an estimated 1,400 ships with opaque ownership, is "not only aiding Russia with circumventing the sanctions, but it's also a clear environmental threat," Billström told POLITICO and a number of other media outlets on the margins of the EU's Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Luxembourg. The fleet, he stressed, "is such a large problem ... when it comes to the money that it fuels the war chest of Russia." However, analysts warn that drastic actions such as blocking ships from EU waters could be construed by Moscow as escalation. According to #Billström, the European Commission and the EU's diplomatic arm will now "sit down and make a thorough run through of all the elements of the shadow fleet and what can be done." This will be followed by a Commission report to the European Council. Flag and harbor states would be approached, according to the Swedish minister, and there could be "actions against owners, operators, insurance companies in [any] third country that Russia today uses to make the shadow fleet possible." It would be the first time the EU has looked into this sanctions loophole since Russia's invasion of #Ukraine in February 2022. Billström said "the time has now come to end that," adding: "The shadow fleet has been has been so useful by Russia because it has flown — or rather floated — below the radar."

In response to Russia's two-year unprovoked full-scale war, the death of opposition politician and anticorruption activist Aleksey Navalny, and a decade of aggression against Ukraine, the United States is imposing sanctions on over 500 individuals and entities in Russia and worldwide. 𝗡𝗮𝘃𝗮𝗹𝗻𝘆'𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵: Three individuals connected to Aleksey Navalny's death are sanctioned under Executive Order 14024. Valeriy Gennadevich Boyarinev, Deputy Director of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia, is alleged to have directed harsher treatment of Navalny while in detention. Igor Borisovich Rakitin and Vadim Konstantinovich Kalinin, officials within the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia, are also designated. 𝗥𝘂𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗘𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗴𝘆 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀: The U.S. is targeting entities involved in Russia's future energy projects. LLC Shipbuilding Complex Zvezda, LLC Modern Marine Arctic Transport SPG, and LLC Novatek Murmansk are singled out for their roles in Russia's maritime and construction sectors related to energy production. Further Sanctions on Arctic LNG 2 Project: The Department of State is sanctioning two major entities involved in financing and constructing specialized liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers for the Arctic LNG 2 project. This follows previous designations that have caused delays and increased construction costs for the project. 𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗨𝗸𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗲 The U.S. is targeting individuals involved in unlawful transfer or deportation of Ukrainian children. Visa Restrictions: The U.S. is taking steps for visa restrictions on individuals involved in human rights abuses, further penalizing Russia for its actions. Business Advisory: A business advisory is being issued to companies, helping them make informed decisions regarding the risks of conducting business in Russia. More on the sanctions against Russian entities and individuals, including targeting major state-owned enterprises, disrupting sanctions evasion efforts, curtailing microelectronics imports, constraining metals and mining revenue, and countering military cooperation, arms proliferation, and malign influence in Moldova and Ukraine's Occupied territories, can be found in the factsheet: #Sanctions #US #Russia #Ukraine #Energy #Moldova #Mining #Metals #Arms #Navalny

On April 24, 2024, President Biden signed H.R. 815 into law, enacting long-awaited Congressional action on the provision of aid to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. The bill is separated into twenty distinct divisions covering a variety of subjects, including numerous sanctions-related measures that had not been anticipated. These additions to the bill, which address areas as varied as the statute of limitations, secondary sanctions, Iranian petroleum shipments, and fentanyl, will have compliance implications for companies across the globe. Read the full article on our website for brief summaries of the most significant changes to emerge from the many sanctions-related Acts included in H.R. 815. #sanctions Authors: Ulrika Swanson, James Ransdell, Stephen Laufer

The UK has issued the first set of sanctions following the death of Alexey Navalny in a Russian prison colony. Six individuals have been sanctioned, including Vadim Konstantinovich Kalinin, who oversaw the prison camp where Navalny was kept in solitary confinement for up to two weeks at a time. Kalinin and the others (high-level officials at the Arctic penal colony where Navalny was kept) are designated under the UK’s Global Human Rights Sanctions Regulations. Navalny's mother, Lyudmila, has filed a lawsuit in a Russian court, demanding the return of her son's remains, so he can be given a proper burial. She also issued a very public statement to Vladimir Putin demanding to see her son's body. Following that statement, Russia declared Alexey's brother Oleg wanted on unspecified charges. The UK has summoned a representative of the Russian Embassy to demand accountability and make clear that the UK holds the Russian government fully responsible for Navalny's death. EU members today approved a 13th package of Ukraine-related sanctions against Russia, banning nearly 200 entities and individuals accused of helping Moscow procure weapons or of involvement in kidnapping Ukrainian children. The United States will announce a major package of #sanctions against Russia on Friday over the death of Navalny and the two-year Ukraine war. #compliance officers should closely monitor #ofac #eu and other designations this week and follow the Institute for Financial Integrity for the latest developments. #complianceofficer #sanctionscompliance #financialintegrity https://lnkd.in/ehuxhtrX

The new and expanded sanctions on Russia and now also Sovcomflot has obviously cut the price on a barrel of oil down to around USD 19,-. Would not this mean that more fossil fuel is burnt? Is this not in contradiction to the environmental engagement of the G7 countries? If the same sanctions should apply to Russian coal, how will that work in respect of the environment? I might be way out but this is good old US and EU logic gone wrong? #OFAC #EU #russia

On 24 June 2024, the European Union adopted its 14th sanctions package against Russia since its invasion of Ukraine in 2022. This package introduces a number of targeted measures on the Russian LNG sector. It also strengthens existing anti-circumvention and due diligence requirements in particular for EU parents of international groups, expands trade-related and financial constraints, and tightens transport restrictions. 71 individuals and 51 entities have been added to the EU's asset freeze list. Read our overview here. https://ow.ly/y9i750SAGSH #whitecase

On 24 June 2024, the European Union adopted its 14th sanctions package against Russia since its invasion of Ukraine in 2022. This package introduces a number of targeted measures on the Russian LNG sector. It also strengthens existing anti-circumvention and due diligence requirements in particular for EU parents of international groups, expands trade-related and financial constraints, and tightens transport restrictions. 71 individuals and 51 entities have been added to the EU's asset freeze list. Read our overview here. https://ow.ly/cYup50SAPpP #whitecase

Sanctions became ‘a discipline in political sports’ for US — Russian diplomat "Notably, more and more often attempts are being made to put pressure not only on Russia, but on third countries as well," Anatoly Antonov said WASHINGTON DC, September 6/ Toughening sanctions has become ‘a discipline in political sports’ for the United States, Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov said. "There is a clear feeling that toughening sanctions has become a kind of a discipline in political sports for the US," he said. "Notably, more and more often attempts are being made to put pressure not only on Russia, but on third countries as well." In his opinion, such measures will only once again demonstrate the risks of the dollar-centered system to the global community. "All measures of this kind will only solidify the opinion, shared by the clear-headed part of the international community, that the dollar-centric system has its risks, very serious risks. [Such steps] fuel interest in alternative channels for economic interactions and expedite the transition to multipolarity," Antonov added. On Thursday, the US administration imposed sanctions against Indian maritime transportation companies Gotik Shipping Co and Plio Energy Cargo Shipping for their alleged involvement in Novatek’s Arctic LNG-2 project. #business #finance #financialservices

On 24 June 2024, the European Union adopted its 14th sanctions package against Russia since its invasion of Ukraine in 2022. This package introduces a number of targeted measures on the Russian LNG sector. It also strengthens existing anti-circumvention and due diligence requirements in particular for EU parents of international groups, expands trade-related and financial constraints, and tightens transport restrictions. 71 individuals and 51 entities have been added to the EU's asset freeze list. Read our overview here. https://ow.ly/PuTN50SAFev #whitecase

SANCTIONS LAW VS. INVESTMENT LAW It’s finally here: The investment claim against EU sanctions. Last week, Russian oligarch Mikhail Fridman announced that he would bring a claim for damages against Luxembourg to recover losses he allegedly suffered due to being listed on the sanctions list in Annex I to EU-Regulation 269/2014 for more than two years. As a consequence of this listing, which has recently been lifted following a decision by the CJEU, all of Fridman's funds and economic resources within the EU were frozen. Alleging a breach of the 1989 Belgium/Luxembourg-UdSSR BIT, Fridman now seeks to recover about $16 billion in damages - half of Luxembourg's annual budget. Since this is the first known investment claim challenging EU sanctions, the tribunal would have to deal with complicated legal problems barely touched upon by any other arbitral tribunals so far. Here are a few initial thoughts on this case: · Since Fridman is a private person, the question whether investment law offers protection to state-owned entities – which plays an important role for the discussion on a confiscation of Russia’s frozen central bank reserves – has no bearing on his case. Some thoughts on this problem can be found here: https://lnkd.in/e9UtziQn · Fridman’s previously frozen assets would need to constitute “investments” to benefit from the BIT's protection. It is not yet clear whether luxury apartments, private jets, yachts and other luxury goods popular among Russia’s wealthiest qualify for this protection. · While the sanctions have been imposed by the EU, not by Luxembourg, the ECtHR has repeatedly held that actions implementing EU legislation remain attributable to the EU member states taking them (Bosphorus v. Ireland). This notion is also reflected in Art. 61 of the ILC’s Articles on the Responsibility of International Organizations for Internationally Wrongful Acts (DARIO). · Luxembourg could argue that the EU sanctions against Russia constitute justified countermeasures responding to Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine. The General Court's recent judgment holding that EU sanctions do NOT constitute countermeasures under international law (Venezuela v. Council, T-65/18 RENV), could, however, prove fatal to this strategy. The fact that the CJEU ultimately ordered Fridman’s removal from the sanctions list also casts doubt on the viability of a countermeasures defense. Depending on the outcome, Fridman's case could lead to a whole avalanche of sanctions-related investment arbitrations. After all, 1825 (!) natural legal persons are still listed in Annex I to EU-Regulation 269/2014 alone. An award in favor of Fridman also has the potential to ´trigger a new backlash against investment arbitration, similar to the one caused by environmental protection concerns in recent years. Therefore both sanctions and investment lawyers should follow this case closely.