NEWS: Britain’s NCA warns banks, dealers and lawyers on use of gold to avoid Russia sanctions

Regulatory Watch News

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  Enforcement and Monetary Penalties guidance updated

  OFSI

  May 2, 2024

  On Thursday 2 May 2024,OFSI's Enforcement and Monetary Penalties guidance was updated. As well as being re-styled and moved into a digital format, as communicated in our 13 February blogpost, this update communicates a change in policy in how OFSI applies its guidance to cases. OFSI will now always apply the most recent iteration of its Enforcement guidance to cases. This makes engaging with the enforcement process easier and clearer for all parties, especially instances where breaches span across the current guidance and previous iterations of the guidance. Chapter 3 of the guidance, which covers case assessment, gives some more details on the change.

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  U.S. Continues to Degrade Russia’s Military-Industrial Base and Target Third-Country Support with Nearly 300 New Sanctions

  US Department of the Treasury

  May 1, 2024

  WASHINGTON — Today, the Department of the Treasury is taking action to further degrade Russia’s ability to sustain its war machine, continuing a multilateral campaign to limit the Kremlin’s revenue and access to the materiel it needs to prosecute its illegal war against Ukraine. Today’s actions target Russia’s military-industrial base and chemical and biological weapons programs as well as companies and individuals in third countries that help Russia acquire key inputs for weapons or defense-related production. The United States, along with many international partners, is particularly concerned about entities based in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and other third countries that provide critical inputs to Russia’s military-industrial base. This support enables Russia to continue its war against Ukraine and poses a significant threat to international security. The almost 300 targets being sanctioned by both Treasury and the Department of State include sanctions on dozens of actors that have enabled Russia to acquire desperately needed technology and equipment from abroad.

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  Three due in court over Heathrow £3.6m cocaine seizures

  National Crime Agency

  May 1, 2024

  National Crime Agency officers have charged three people with drug smuggling offences after three separate cocaine seizures off the same flight. The trio were all on board a plane which flew in from Montego Bay in Jamaica and landed at Heathrow on Monday evening. NCA investigators were brought in after the men were stopped by Border Force officers, who had recovered around 45 kilos of cocaine from three suitcases.