The European Union and the United Kingdom on Monday added more entities based in India to an updated sanctions list that targets “those who continue to aid” Russia’s war on Ukraine.

The latest sanctions were introduced on the third anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which triggered the deadliest conflict in Europe since World War II.

The 16th package of the European Union’s sanctions list included 48 persons and 35 entities. Their assets will be frozen and there will be a prohibition on making funds and economic resources available to them, the EU said in a statement.

The European sanctions added new criteria to include owners or operators of Russia’s “shadow fleet” of shipping vessels or those who benefit from the Russian military-industrial complex. The bloc added 74 such ships that are part of the “shadow fleet” to its sanctions list.

Two entities based in India were among the new entries to the list of those that have been “identified as supporting the Russian military-industrial complex or engaged in sanctions circumvention”.

Twenty-five entities from China (including Hong Kong), two from Kazakhstan and the United Arab Emirates each, and one each from Uzbekistan, Turkey and Singapore were also added to the list.

Some other entities based in India were sanctioned by the EU in 2024.

On Monday, the United Kingdom also announced 107 new sanctions on entities allegedly linked to Moscow. This included manufacturers of dual-use goods for the Russian military such microprocessors used in weapons systems.

These entities are based in India, Türkiye, Thailand, China and central Asian states, the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said in a statement.

Inussia Impex Private Limited, which is on the British sanctions target list, was described by the UK government as an India-based company that has allegedly “exported Common High Priority goods, including western-produced microelectronics” to Russia.

In October, the United States had sanctioned 19 Indian companies and two persons from India for having allegedly materially assisted Russia. The Ministry of External Affairs had said that the firms had not violated local laws.

The ministry told Parliament in December that the government was discussing the matter with Washington. “[The] government also regularly sensitises Indian companies on export controls, including through regular outreach events in an effort to ensure that companies are not contravening India laws,” the ministry had said.

US sanctions for Indian firms over trade with Iran

The United States on Monday sanctioned four India-based companies for allegedly engaging in the trade and transportation of Iranian crude oil and petroleum products, The Indian Express reported.

The companies are Navi Mumbai’s Flux Maritime LLP, National Capital Region-based BSM Marine LLP and Austinship Management Pvt Ltd and Thanjavur-based Cosmos Lines Inc.

Cosmos Lines was sanctioned for its role in transporting Iranian petroleum products while the others were sanctioned for managing vessels involved in transporting Iranian oil.

They are among 30 entities globally who have been sanctioned by the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control and the US Department of State as part of President Donald Trump’s “maximum pressure campaign” on Iran.

“The vessels sanctioned today are responsible for shipping tens of millions of barrels of crude oil valued in the hundreds of millions of dollars,” the Office of Foreign Assets Control said in a release on Monday.

“The Iranian regime continues to destabilise global security with its nuclear threat, ballistic missile program and support for terrorist groups,” the US Department of State said in a separate release. “Iran’s oil exports are enabled by a network of illicit shipping facilitators in multiple jurisdictions who, through obfuscation and deception, load and transport Iranian oil for sale to buyers in Asia. Today, the United States is taking action under President Trump’s maximum pressure campaign on Iran to stem the flow of revenue the regime uses to fund these destabilizing activities.”

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