On December 31, 2019, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas overturned a $2 million fine imposed by the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) against ExxonMobil Corp., and its U.S. subsidiaries ExxonMobil Development Company and ExxonMobil Oil Corp. (collectively, “Exxon”). This marked…
On August 8, 2018, the State Department announced that it had concluded that Russia was responsible for poisoning former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia using the nerve agent Novichok and that it had sent a report to Congress pursuant to the Chemical and Biological Warfare Weapons Elimination…
The Treasury Department has placed several prominent Russian individuals and companies on the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons lists (SDN list). Several of these parties are Russian billionaires previously identified in the Treasury Department’s so-called “Oligarch List” reported to Congress on January 29, 2018. Under the general licenses issued…
This week, the U.S. government took several steps to implement sections of the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act of 2017 (CAATSA), with implications for Russia-related sanctions and their enforcement. On October 27, 2017, the Department of State (DoS) published guidance on sanctions with respect to Russia’s Defense and Intelligence…
On August 2, 2017, President Trump signed into law the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), which strengthened U.S. sanctions on Russia, North Korea and Iran. CAATSA had been passed by overwhelming “veto-proof” majorities of Congress and President Trump signed the bill while expressing reservations concerning the limitations it…
On June 15, 2017, the Senate passed the Countering Iran’s Destabilizing Activities Act of 2017 (S.722) by a vote of 98-2. Included with the bill is a significant Russia sanctions amendment, the Countering Russian Influence in Europe and Eurasia Act of 2017, which would expand U.S. primary and secondary sanctions…
Donald Trump’s victory in the 2016 Presidential election put the Republican Party in charge of the White House and Congress for the first time in a decade. President-elect Trump ran as an anti-establishment candidate who departed from many traditional Republican positions and promised bold and in some respects controversial reforms.…
Pillsbury and Goltsblat BLP are pleased to announce that Evgeny Shumilov, Economic Attaché, Embassy of the Russian Federation, will be participating in the October 21 luncheon and roundtable discussion on doing business in Russia. Mr. Shumilov will open the event by discussing the state of U.S.-Russia trade and opportunities for…
On 19 June, the European Council extended EU sanctions against Russia pursuant to Council Decision (CFSP 2015/959). This follows a series of increasingly coordinated actions by the US and EU, such as the joint statement produced at the G7 meeting two weeks ago, to show a united front against continued…
The leaders of the G7 met for two days of discussions in Elmau, Southern Germany on 7 and 8 June 2015. High on the agenda was the issue of Russian targeted EU and US sanctions over Moscow’s role in support of Ukrainian rebels. Russia has already been excluded from what…