A group of European countries not in the EU aligned with an Aug. 3 European Council decision adding names to its Belarus sanctions regime. The council tacked on 38 individuals and three entities to the list, subjecting them to an asset freeze and travel ban. The countries of North Macedonia, Montenegro, Albania, Ukraine, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway also imposed the decision, the council said Aug. 21.

The U.K.'s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation on Aug. 21 amended the entries for eight people and one entity under its North Korea sanctions list. The entity is North Korea's Munitions Industry Department, and the people are political, military or business leaders in North Korea.

The U.K. High Court of Justice's Administrative Court on Aug. 18 rejected a sanctions designation appeal by Eugene Shvidler, an associate of Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich and a director of mining giant Evraz. The court ruled the designation was "proportionate" and not "discriminatory."

The EU this week launched an investigation into whether certain imports of biodiesel from Indonesia -- consigned from China and the U.K. -- are circumventing the EU’s countervailing duty measures. The bloc began the probe after receiving a July request from the European Biodiesel Board, which showed “sufficient evidence” that the imports may be violating the CV duties, the EU said Aug. 17.

Russia will raise its export duty on oil by $4.50 to $21.60 per ton starting Sept. 1, the Russian Finance Ministry announced. According to the state-owned news agency Tass, the export duty per ton will amount to $6.40 on light oil products and oils, $21.40 on dark oil products, $6.40 on commercial gasoline and $11.70 on straight-run gasoline. The duty for liquefied natural gas will remain at zero, while the coke duty will be $1.30 per ton.

The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority’s annual report last month included a more “pronounced” focus on sanctions compliance, including details on the government’s ongoing “assessments” of companies’ compliance programs, Baker McKenzie said in an August client alert. The firm said financial institutions operating in the U.K. should be aware that they may need to report potential sanctions violations to the FCA as well as to the country’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation, and firms should “re-review their sanctions compliance policies and procedures” due to the FCA’s “focus on the effectiveness of a bank’s financial crime systems and controls.”

A group of European countries not in the EU aligned with recent sanctions moves from the European Council regarding Iran's support for Russia's war in Ukraine, serious human rights abuses and the situation in Myanmar.

The U.K.'s Export Control Joint Unit on Aug. 11 issued a new general license under its Russia sanctions regime permitting the provision of certain legal advice and services. The license authorizes legal advisory services to any person or entity related to whether an "act or a proposed act complies with" sanctions, export and import controls on Russia. Parties may now provide legal advisory services surrounding the risk of "punitive measures" concerning sanctions on Russia, any Russian laws that "have as their object or effect the frustration of any laws specified [in any restrictive measures] including sanctions, export and import controls or other restrictive measures imposed by Russia"; or "any criminal law imposed by any jurisdiction."

The European Commission doubled the antidumping duties on optical fiber cables from China following an investigation that found Chinese exporters "were attempting to impede the effects of the original measures," the Directorate-General for Trade announced Aug. 9. The commission said Chinese optical fiber cable exporters deliberately dropped their prices to bar the effects of the original duties, in place since November 2021. The new duties on optical fiber cable entering the EU from China will range from 39.4% to 88% -- twice the original duties and "the maximum increase allowed."

The Moscow Arbitration Court in an Aug. 1 order froze shares of companies owned by Goldman Sachs Group, worth around $36 million, after Russian bank Otkritie filed a lawsuit against the U.S. banking giant, the Financial Times reported. State-owned Otkritie said Goldman refused to fulfill $6.4 million in debt obligations under derivatives deals between the two banks. Goldman said it was not able to settle the debt due to sanctions set against the Russian bank, FT reported.