On 1 September the Australian Government announced additional autonomous sanctions relating to Russia.
The new sanctions expand the list of designated persons and entities subject to targeted financial and travel sanctions. Commencing 2 September, a total of 113 Russian and Ukraine individuals and 32 entities became subject to Australia’s targeted financial and travel sanctions.
In addition, as part of the expanded Russian sanctions the Autonomous Sanctions Regulations 2011 will be amended to:
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restrict arms exports;
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prevent the export of goods and services for use in Russia’s oil exploration or production;
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restrict access of Russian state-owned banks to Australian capital markets; and
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restrict Australian trade and investment in Crimea.
The Australian Government has indicated it may take a couple of months to amend the Regulations to add the new Russian sanctions. Based on the current Regulations, we expect to see the new sanctions relating to Russia implemented in the Regulations as sanctioned supplies / exports, sanctioned services and sanctioned commercial activities. These new sanctions will significantly broaden the scope of sanctioned activities relating to Russia and, accordingly, expand the screening processes businesses need to implement with respect to their Russian business dealings.
