Steptoe & Johnson LLP (LexBlog Russia)

On September 14, 2023, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”), the Department of State, and the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) announced new sanctions designations and export control guidance related to Russia.  These developments are the latest updates in the U.S. government’s ever-evolving response to...

On May 19, 2023, the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) and the US Department of State announced a new round of multifaceted sanctions against Russia.  These sanctions actions were announced alongside additional export controls imposed by the US Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) and the publication of a...

On May 19, 2023, in conjunction with the G7, Australia, and other international partners, the US government announced a range of new export controls and sanctions and added 71 entities to the Entity list, primarily for supporting Russia’s military and defense sectors.  The new export controls – and new sanctions, which are the subject of...

On 8 March 2023, the General Court granted Violetta Prigozhina’s request to annul the restrictive measures imposed via Council Regulation (EU) 2022/260 implementing Regulation (EU) No 269/2014 (“the contested Regulation”). Ms. Prigozhina was placed on the list of designated persons on 23 February 2022, along with members of the government, banks, businesspersons, and Members of...

After weeks of going back and forth, the Council of the European Union (“Council”) was finally able to adopt the 10th package of sanctions against Russia in time to coincide with the first anniversary of Ukraine’s invasion on Friday, 24 February. Since a unanimous decision by the Member States is required in order to move...

On February 24, 2023, the US government announced a range of new export controls, sanctions, and tariffs to coincide with the first anniversary of Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine. These actions by the US Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), the US Department of the Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC),...

The Department of Justice (DOJ) “KleptoCapture” Task Force (the “Task Force”), launched shortly after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine earlier this year, is characterized by DOJ as a key part of the current Administration’s broader anti-corruption initiative. The role of the Task Force is to support the enforcement of sanctions and export control restrictions imposed against...

The Department of Justice (DOJ) “KleptoCapture” Task Force (the “Task Force”), launched shortly after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine earlier this year, is characterized by DOJ as a key part of the current Administration’s broader anti-corruption initiative. The role of the Task Force is to support the enforcement of sanctions and export control restrictions imposed against...

This year, we have witnessed an extraordinary set of coordinated economic sanctions and export control regulatory actions against Russia after its invasion of Ukraine. In contrast to the fast and furious pace of regulatory action, enforcement actions did not keep pace. This year’s enforcement actions by the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control...

This year, we have witnessed an extraordinary set of coordinated economic sanctions and export control regulatory actions against Russia after its invasion of Ukraine. In contrast to the fast and furious pace of regulatory action, enforcement actions did not keep pace. This year’s enforcement actions by the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control...

Between April 18 and May 2, 2022, the US government continued to ratchet up economic sanctions, export controls, and other restrictive trade measures targeting Russia.  Most significantly, on April 21, President Biden issued a Proclamation prohibiting “Russian-affiliated vessels” from entering US ports.  Otherwise, the US government has focused on utilizing its existing authorities to impose...

Between April 5 and April 17, 2022, the US government took several steps to ratchet up economic sanctions, export controls, and other restrictive trade measures targeting Russia and Belarus. President Biden issued a new Executive Order prohibiting US persons from engaging in new investment in Russia, and also establishing a framework through which US persons...

Between March 24 and April 1, 2022, the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated over 400 Russian elites, Duma members, and defense companies as Specially Designated Nationals (SDNs) pursuant to Executive Order (EO). 14024. OFAC also published four new, limited General Licenses regarding certain humanitarian, import-related, diplomatic, and journalistic...

With the U.S. and Europe united in opposing Russia’s attack on Ukraine, a few tough transatlantic disputes are being swept away – or at least under the rug. Most prominently, the data protection crisis touched off by Schrems 2 has been resolved in principle by a new framework agreement between the U.S. and the EU....

As of March 20, 2022, a new Executive Order (EO) prohibited certain imports, exports, the transfer of US dollar banknotes to Russia, and new investments involving certain sectors of the Russian economy.  The US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) also issued new General Licenses and Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) guidance. Additionally, the US Department...

On March 15, the Council of the EU proceeded to adopt the fourth package of sanctions against Russia over the continued military aggression of Ukraine. With these new sanctions, the EU seeks to address potential loopholes under the first three packages, such as by providing clarifications, to restrict certain derogations, and to expand the sanctions’...

A special reminder that we will be doing episode 400 live on video and with audience participation on March 28, 2022 at noon Eastern daylight time. So mark your calendar and when the time comes, use this link to join the audience: https://riverside.fm/studio/the-cyberlaw-podcast-400 See you there! For the third week in a row, we lead...

Since the adoption of the first sanctions package against Russia, the Council of the EU and the European Commission (“Commission”) have been working closely together to adopt increasingly severe sanctions to force President Putin back to the negotiating table in view of reaching a ceasefire. Coordination with allies has also been intense. Following our review...

Much of this episode is devoted to the new digital curtain falling across Europe. Gus Horwitz and Mark-MacCarthy review the tech boycott that has seen companies like Apple, Samsung, Microsoft and Adobe pull their service from Russia. Nick Weaver describes how Russia cracked down on independent Russian media outlets and blocked access to the websites of foreign media including the BBC and Facebook.

Much of this episode is devoted to the new digital curtain falling across Europe. Gus Horwitz and Mark-MacCarthy review the tech boycott that has seen companies like Apple, Samsung, Microsoft and Adobe pull their service from Russia. Nick Weaver describes how Russia cracked down on independent Russian media outlets and blocked access to the websites of foreign media including the BBC and Facebook.

On March 4, 2022, HM Treasury’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) published an updated version of its Russia guidance and issued two new general licences permitting the wind down of positions with Sberbank and involving Bank Otkritie, Promsvyazbank, Bank Rossiya, Sovcombank, and VEB.  The UK government also put forward a series of amendments to...

Much of this episode is devoted to how modern networks and media are influencing what has become a major shooting war between Russia and Ukraine. Dmitri Alperovitch gives a sweeping overview. Ukraine and its President, Volodymyr Zelensky, clearly won the initial stages of the war in cyberspace, turning broad Western sympathy into a deeper commitment...

On February 21, 2022, the White House issued a new Executive Order (EO) imposing comprehensive sanctions on the disputed Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine following President Vladimir Putin’s announcement that Russia would recognize the independence of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR) and Luhansk People’s Republic (LNR) and place Russian military forces in those...

Join Steptoe’s Economic Sanctions team on Wednesday, February 9, at 10:30 a.m. ET, for a complimentary webinar in which we will explore the current policy and regulatory landscape related to potential economic sanctions targeting Russia. Our lawyers will discuss the impact of specific instruments under consideration by US, EU, and UK officials, and address compliance challenges, enforcement...

Economic sanctions and export controls will form a core part of any multilateral response to an escalation of Russia’s military actions targeting Ukraine. While it is not possible to predict with certainty whether an escalation will occur or what form the responsive measures would take, this blog post outlines some of the current US sanctions...

The European Commission recently issued three Opinions on the interpretation of specific provisions in different EU sanctions frameworks. They cover the notion “making available”, changes to the features of frozen funds as well as the release of frozen funds. Opinion on the notion of “making available” under financial sanctions targeting Russia The Commission issued an...

On April 15, 2021, the White House and the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) announced a package of economic sanctions targeting Russia, including expansive new legal authorities that would allow for the imposition of additional future sanctions on Russia in the technology sector and on Russian government bodies.  OFAC...

On March 2, 2021, the US Departments of Treasury, State, and Commerce announced the coordinated imposition of sanctions and other restrictive measures on Russia and Russian officials and entities for the “poisoning and subsequent imprisonment of Russian opposition figure Aleksey Navalny.” The Department of the Treasury added seven Russian officials and entities to the Specially...

On January 19, 2021, the US State Department announced the imposition of sanctions on Russia-based entity KVT-RUS and Russian-flagged vessel FORTUNA pursuant to Section 232 of the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), for “knowingly selling, leasing, or providing to the Russian Federation goods, services, technology, information, or support for the construction of...

In this week’s episode I interview David Ignatius about the technology in his latest spy novel, The Paladin. Actually, while we do cover such tech issues as deepfakes, hacking back, Wikileaks, and internet journalism, the interview ranges more widely, from the steel industry of the 1970s, the roots of Donald Trump’s political worldview, and the...