EU Adopts Fifth Round of Sanctions Against Russia

On 8 April 2022, the Council of the European Union imposed restrictive measures against an additional 217 individuals and 18 entities, including Bank Otkritie, Novikombank, Sovcombank, and VTB. With this action, EU restrictive measures now apply to 1091 individuals and 80 entities.

Those designated are subject to an asset freeze and EU citizens and companies are forbidden from making funds available to them. EU Council Regulation No 269/2014 Article 1(g) defines ‘funds’ to mean financial assets and benefits of every kind including guarantees, performance bonds, letters of credit, and bills of lading.