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Economic Sanctions

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A page dedicated to global, regional, UK and US Sanctions updates

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OFSI publishes Guidance on license applications for travel

OFSI has published guidance for applicants and potential applicants for OFSI licences relating to travel costs incurred in making their applications (for example, allowing them to attend legal meetings or court hearings). Such applications need to demonstrate that …

EU discusses eleventh package of EU sanctions against Russia

The measures in the package include a ban of ‘shadow’ entities from Russia and third countries that are intentionally circumventing EU sanctions, further restrictions on the import, transport and supply of Russian oil, prohibition to access EU ports and locks…

OFAC sanctions member of “Los Chapitos” and expands targeting of deadly fentanyl supply network 

Those sanctioned are part of a Sinaloa Cartel network overseen by Los Chapitos and responsible for a significant portion of the illicit fentanyl and other deadly drugs trafficked into the US. Sinaloa Cartel initially operated as a coalition of Mexico’s most powerful drug traffickers…

OFSI publishes Guidance on financial sanctions implementation for high value dealers

The Guidance is provided for entities and individuals operating in the sale or trade of high value goods, especially those trading internationally with regions that may be subject to UK financial sanctions restrictions. It covers asset freezes, reporting obligations, enforcement..

Atlantic Council publishes Global Sanctions Dashboard

This edition answers the most controversial question about the blocked Russian state assets: to seize them or not to seize them?  and proposes a solution that would transfer funds directly and quickly to Ukraine without triggering a host of legal obstacles in the US…

 

OFSI expands Russia-related prohibitions on trust services

OFSI issues a new general license to further restrict Russian efforts to access trust services in the UK. This action was taken in response to enforcement agency evidence suggesting that UK-based trust and company service providers have been offering trust services to…

OFSI updates its Enforcement and Monetary Penalty Guidance

The updated Guidance includes paragraphs setting out OFSI’s expectations around the nature and type of due diligence that companies should undertake when assessing whether an entity is owned or controlled by one or more designated persons, for sanctions purposes…

 

EP briefing on ‘EU sanctions on Russia: Overview, impact, challenges

The European Parliament has unequivocally condemned Russia’s unjustified aggression against Ukraine, and has since demanded broader and better-enforced sanctions, including a secondary sanctions mechanism, as well as the confiscation of Russian assets frozen by the EU…

Global Advisory on Russian Sanctions Evasion issued by the Multilateral REPO Task Force

The REPO Task Force’s collective efforts have resulted in the freezing of tens of billions of dollars and the freezing or seizure of high-value goods or property. However, some sanctioned Russian elites and their financial networks have managed to evade sanctions and…

US Treasury Fact Sheet summarising outcomes from the Russian sanctions regime

Over 80% of Russia’s banking sector by assets are under U.S. sanctions, including the top 10 Russian-owned banks. More than 1,000 foreign companies reportedly have ceased or curtailed their operations in Russia since the start of the war, stifling investment and industrial…

EU agrees 10th package of sanctions against Russia

The package contains new listings plus trade and financial sanctions, including further export bans worth more than €11 billion, depriving the Russian economy of critical tech and industrial goods. It also steps up enforcement and anti-circumvention measures, including a new…

Basel Working Paper sheds fresh light on the sanctions and confiscation debate

The paper examines whether states should be able to confiscate sanctioned assets* purely on the basis that they have been sanctioned? The justifiability and legality of mechanisms such as Canada’s is currently the subject of debate. Two key issues include whether the…