A group of European countries not in the EU aligned with a European Council sanctions decision earlier this month to amend the list of individuals and entities subject to restrictions on those undermining the sovereignty of Ukraine. The countries of North Macedonia, Montenegro, Albania, Ukraine, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway also imposed the decision, the council said.

Nearly all fof the oil exported from Kozmino port in the Russian Pacific sold for above the $60 price cap during the first three months of 2023, indicating violations of the G-7 oil price cap on Russian crude, the Kyiv School of Economics Institute in Ukraine said in a study of trade and shipping data. The study also found the "continued and substantial involvement of G7/EU shipping service providers."

An attorney for Russian billionaire Dmitry Pumpyansky said EU sanctions on him and his family are "an abuse of power" and serve "no understandable, no reasonable purpose under the EU foreign policy goals." In a public appeal of the sanctions in the EU General Court, Pumpyansky said he and his family are "collateral damage in the conflict between Russia and the EU" and are "mere hostages of EU foreign policy," Bloomberg reported April 25. Pumpyansky was listed in March 2022 as founder of Russia's largest pipemaker TMK PJSC. His lawyers said he is not a Russian oligarch and is instead a "self-made businessman."

Amazon is “committed to ensuring” its products “are produced in a way that respects human rights,” a company spokesperson said April 25 in response to a complaint submitted this week under Germany’s new supply chain law. “We engage with suppliers that are committed to these same principles and have clear requirements outlined for suppliers in our Supply Chain Standards,” the spokesperson emailed.

A group of European countries not in the EU aligned with two recent sanctions moves by the EU. Under the Iran sanctions regime, the council renewed the restrictions for another 12 months, until April 13, 2024, the European Council announced. North Macedonia, Montenegro, Albania, Ukraine, Moldova, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Liechtenstein and Norway also imposed this decision, the council said. The EU also implemented a humanitarian exemption to its sanctions regimes. North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Albania, Ukraine, Moldova, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway aligned with the decision.

The EU General Court tossed an application for an injunction on sanctions against the former director of African Gold Refinery Ltd., registered in Uganda, under the EU's Democratic Republic of the Congo sanctions list, according to an unofficial translation. The court ruled the unnamed applicant failed to establish the condition relating to the urgent need for the injunction.

The U.K. added four entries to its Iran (Human Rights) sanctions regime, the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation announced. The four people are Mohammad Nazar Azimi, Ahmad Kadem, Mohsen Karimi and Habib Shahsavari, all officers in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The European Parliament last week approved legislation that could allow the EU to better trace certain transfers of crypto-assets and block “suspicious transactions.” The legislation, which must be endorsed by the European Council before becoming law, “will make it more difficult for criminals, terrorists and sanctions evaders to misuse crypto assets,” Parliament member Assita Kanko, of Belgium, said.

The EU Court of Justice tossed an appeal from the European Council seeking to reverse a General Court ruling that annulled sanctions on Aisha Muammer Mohamed El-Gadhafi, the daughter of Moammar Gadhafi, under the Libya sanctions regime. The court ruled that the council did not sufficiently support its claim that annulling the sanctions decisions would cause serious and irreversible harm to the effectiveness of the sanctions. Merely alleging that El-Gadhafi might move to prevent fund-freezing measures from being applied was not enough, the court said.

The EU made new sanctions listings under three regimes, the European Council announced. Under the anti-terrorism list, the council added two individuals and one group linked to ISIL operating in the Cabo Delgado region in Mozambique. The group is ISIS-Mozambique and the two individuals are Abu Yasir Hassan and Bonomade Mahcude Omar, who hold leadership positions in the group.