EU sanctions updates since 4 March

On 7 March, European Union leaders announced that they are “working on further sanctions that might be warranted” in light of the continued conflict in Ukraine. One of the expected further sanctions, announced on 9 March, included restrictions on the export of maritime navigation and radio communication technology to any legal person, entity or body in Russia, for use in Russia, or for placing on board of a Russian-flagged vessel. Moreover, the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping has been added to the list of state-owned enterprises subject to financing limitations.

Finally, the European Union has confirmed a common understanding that the term “transferable securities” (where used in capital markets “sectoral” sanctions) includes crypo-assets. Another 160 individuals have also been added to the asset freeze list including 14 additional oligarchs and their family members.

On 9 March, the EU Council announced further measures related to Belarus. These include the addition of the following banks to the SWIFT ban: Belagroprombank, Bank Dabrabyt, and the Development Bank of the Republic of Belarus, as well as their Belarusian subsidiaries.

Further, the new EU measures related to Belarus prohibit:

• transactions with the Central Bank of Belarus when related to the management of reserves or assets,
• provision of public financing for trade with and investment in Belarus,
• listing and provision of services in relation to shares of Belarus state-owned entities on EU trading venues as of 12 April 2022,
• the provision of euro denominated banknotes to Belarus, and
• the acceptance of deposits exceeding €100.000 from Belarusian nationals or residents, the holding of accounts of Belarusian clients by the EU central securities depositories, as well as the selling of euro-denominated securities to Belarusian clients.

Although not specifically related to Russia (the mechanism was initially announced in January 2021), on 4 March the European Union announced a whistleblower tool to facilitate the reporting of possible sanctions violations. The mechanism is voluntary, and reports can be made via email or anonymously through the online tool. The European Commission suggests individuals may consider reporting information which relates “for example, to facts concerning sanctions violations, their circumstances and the individuals, companies and third countries involved.” It continues: “[t]hese can be facts that are not publicly known but are known to you and can cover past, ongoing or planned sanctions violations, as well as attempts to circumvent EU sanctions.”

EU member states are responsible for investigations and enforcement of sanctions breaches within their jurisdiction; this mechanism may signal pressure from the EU Commission for member states to enhance enforcement of sanctions breaches.