Germany released the draft Sanctions Enforcement Act II, which looks to make structural improvements to its sanctions and anti-money laundering enforcement efforts, according to an unofficial translation. The first installment of the legislation passed in May. The new bill would create a Central Office for the Enforcement of Sanctions to enforce EU sanctions in Germany, provide administrative procedures to identify funds or economic resources owned or controlled by sanctioned individuals or entities, and let the Central Office appoint a special representative to monitor entities' sanctions compliance.

The EU dropped seven individuals from its Tunisia sanctions regime. In an Oct. 27 decision, the European Council delisted Mohamed Ben Moncef Ben Mohamed Trabelsi, Kais Ben Slaheddine Ben Haj Hamda Ben Ali, Hamda Ben Slaheddine Ben Haj Hamda Ben Ali, Najmeddine Ben Slaheddine Ben Haj Hamda Ben Ali, Najet Bent Slaheddine Ben Haj Hamda Ben Ali, Imed Ben Habib Ben Bouali Ltaief and Naoufel Ben Habib Ben Bouali Ltaief. All seven were originally listed in 2011 for misappropriating Tunisian state funds. The EU General Court in 2013 annulled the listing for Trabelsi, leading the council to amend the reasons for his listing.

The U.K. released a General License under its Russia and Belarus sanctions regimes pertaining to the provision of legal services, the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation announced. The license allows for the payment of legal fees by designated individuals and entities to law firms and counsel. The license distinguishes between legal fees issued pre- and post-designation. OFSI imposed a cap of around $574,000, VAT included, on the amount that can be claimed for legal work carried out pre-designation, and an identical cap on overall fees for legal work started post-designation with reporting obligations proving all fees are reasonable.

The U.K. on Oct. 29 amended its Russian sanctions regime to prohibit the import and acquisition of liquefied natural gas and gold jewelry, the Department for International Trade said. The amendment also extends the existing restrictions on the import of gold to include gold processed in a third country and expands the list of revenue-generating goods to goods falling under commodity codes 2208 and 2303. The move further bans the provision of technical assistance, financial services and funds and brokering services relating to the goods. The measures took effect Oct. 29, except for the provision relating to liquefied natural gas, which takes effect Jan. 1.

European officials are concerned that a sudden increase in exports of washing machines, refrigerators and other items to Russian neighbors are being used to help the country acquire semiconductors and evade export controls, Bloomger reported Oct. 29. Armenia imported more washing machines from the EU during the first eight months of this year than the last two years combined, the report said, and Kazakhstan imported more than triple the amount of refrigerators through August compared with the same period last year. European officials are concerned some of the items' components may be used by Russia's military, the report said, and have publicly said they have seen parts from fridges in Russian military equipment used in Ukraine.

Germany plans to approve the purchase of Dortmund-based semiconductor company Elmos by Sweden’s Silex, which is a subsidiary of China's Sai Microelectronics, German paper Handelsblatt reported Oct. 28, according to an unofficial translation. Germany’s final decision is expected “within the next few weeks,” the report said, and could “defy” a recommendation from the country’s intelligence ministry, which has warned that the deal could increase Germany’s dependence on China's semiconductor market. An Elmos spokesperson declined to comment.

The top trade official from the EU, European Commission Executive Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis, said the incentives for the green transition in the Inflation Reduction Act appear to discriminate against automotive, battery, renewables and energy-intensive businesses operating in the EU. "It will not be easy to fix it -- but fix it we must," he said during an Oct. 31 speech at the EU Foreign Affairs Council in Prague. He also said, "This is an issue of concern for many countries and businesses, which I have raised with our US partners over these past weeks, and it featured prominently in today's discussions."

The U.K. Solicitors Regulation Authority in October released its "Anti Money Laundering annual report 2021-22," finding that 26% of the SRA-reviewed anti-money laundering policies implemented by 224 firms failed to mention steps a fee earner should take to ensure that a client is not subject to financial sanctions. The report said the consequences of noncompliance are high, given the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation's aggressive enforcement. It said compliance can be ensured via correctly identifying sanctioned individuals and entities, avoiding providing listed individuals and entities with prohibited services and ensuring all reporting obligations are fulfilled. SRA said it will boost its sanctions compliance work in the upcoming year.

The U.K.'s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation updated its frozen assets reporting template, OFSI said. The U.K. Treasury requires all individuals who "hold or control funds or economic resources belonging to a designated person, to complete the reporting form and submit it to" OFSI by Nov. 11. The reporting exercise is conducted annually to update OFSI's records.

The EU General Court in an Oct. 26 judgment annulled the sanctions listing of Dmitry Ovsyannikov under the Russia sanctions regime. The European Council said that given his former positions in the Russian government since 2017, Ovsyannikov undermined Ukraine's sovereignty. The General Court said the council could not justify this finding because Ovsyannikov resigned as Sevastopol governor in 2019 and stopped working as a deputy minister in 2020. The EU had to show that his links with the government since these dates justified his designation -- something the bloc failed to do, the court held. However, Ovsyannikov is still sanctioned following a European Council decision in September that was taken up after the hearing in this case.