A group of European countries not in the EU aligned with two recent European Council sanctions decisions. North Macedonia, Montenegro, Albania, Ukraine, Moldova, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland and Liechtenstein also imposed the EU's changes on its terrorism sanctions list, the council said. North Macedonia, Montenegro, Albania, Ukraine, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway imposed the EU decision amending entries related to Belarus' support of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The U.K.'s High Court of Justice on March 14 rejected a challenge from Belarus technology company LLC Synesis to its sanctions listing. Justice Robert Jay held that the U.K.'s standard for a listing -- not a finding of fact but "reasonable grounds to suspect" -- is a well-established test under the law. Decision-makers must consider the information "as a whole" and it "cannot be disaggregated or salami-sliced," Jay said. Synesis was listed for supplying the Belarus state with video surveillance and monitoring systems that could be used to suppress protesters.

The European Council extended until Sept. 15 sanctions on people and entities responsible for undermining the sovereignty of Ukraine. The sanctions apply to 1,473 people and 205 entities.

The European Parliamentary Research Service released a briefing covering a timeline of EU sanctions on Russia, including an analysis of the sanctions, their effectiveness and their economic impact.

Arms shipments to Europe have “risen sharply” due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute said in a March 13 report. Many of the exports have come from the U.S., the report said, which accounted for 40% of global arms exports from 2018 to 2022. The report also highlighted a steep decline in Russian arms shipments, mostly due to Western sanctions, although Moscow increased its arms exports to China by 39% and to Egypt by 44% from 2018 to 2022. Russian arms exports to India during that same time period fell by 37%.

The G-7's Financial Action Task Force updated guidance this month on the beneficial ownership of legal persons to reflect the strengthened global beneficial ownership standards agreed to a year ago. The FATF's Recommendation 24 mandates that states ensure government authorities can access accurate and up-to-date information on the true owners of companies.

Switzerland amended its Syria sanctions regime to allow for humanitarian work in the war- and earthquake-torn nation. "Humanitarian actors in receipt of federal funding may now provide money and economic resources directly or indirectly to designated persons, entities and businesses, when necessary to provide humanitarian assistance or support to the civilian population," the Swiss Federal Council said. The amendment went into effect March 3.

The U.K. amended or corrected 21 entries under its Russia sanctions regime in a March 10 notice. Among those whose entries the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation amended are Oleg Evtushenko, Rostec's management board member; Vitaly Markelov, deputy-chairman of Gazprom's management board; Yuri Olenin, Rosatom management board member; Roman Pakhomov, Aeroflot-Russian Airline director; Andrei Petrov, Rosatom management board member; Alexander Prokopiev, Russia State Duma member. OFSI also made corrections to the listings for 12 individuals and two entities, the Almaz-Antey Air and Space Defense Corp. and Sobol.

The U.K.'s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation updated its guidance on its maritime services prohibition and oil price cap on refined Russian oil products to show the price cap and the wind-down period for oil products loaded before Feb. 5, according to the EUSanctions blog. The guidance also includes a new "origin of goods" section on whether oil products have been substantially processed and details a new example concerning the transport of co-mingled refined oil products.

The EU General Court on March 8 annulled the listing of Nizar Assaad under the Syria sanctions regime, finding the European Council erred in establishing that he is still a businessperson in Syria, has any ties to the ruling Assad or Makhlouf families or is associated with the Syrian regime. The court also said the council violated the principle of legal certainty by retroactively imposing the sanctions in 2011 after confirming that Assaad was not the listed party for the previous 10 years.