On January 10, 2025, in a multilateral sanctions action, the US, Canada, EU, and UK sanctioned various Venezuelan individuals linked to the Venezuelan government and prominent state-owned entities. US Sanctions The US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) designated eight Venezuelan individuals as Specially Designated Nationals pursuant to Executive Order 13692, including the president of the Specially Designated National state-owned petroleum company, Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A., (PdVSA), the Venezuelan Ministry of Transportation and…
On 8 January 2025, the UK Government announced the forthcoming launch of a new sanctions regime targeting irregular migration and organised immigration crime, expected to come into force in 2025. The UK Government explained, in an 8 January press release, that this new sanctions regime is designed to target organised immigration networks operated and utilised by people smugglers, with the goal of deterring smugglers and stemming their financial flows at their source. This forms part…
On 7 January 2025, the UK’s Office of Trade Sanctions Implementation (“OTSI”) published two guidance documents on compliance with the UK’s sanctions against Russia, focusing on combatting sanctions evasion and on incorporating “no Russia” clauses in customer contracts. The new guidance documents aim to support UK businesses in understanding and mitigating the risks associated with Russian sanctions evasion, by providing guidance on understanding circumvention practices and recommendations for mitigation steps, including incorporating protective “no Russia”…
In October 2024, the United States Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) and the United Kingdom’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (“OFSI”) celebrated the second anniversary of their Enhanced Partnership. This collaboration, initiated in response to the increasingly complex geopolitical landscape, aims to bolster the effectiveness of sanctions as a global tool for national security. Over the past two years, OFAC and OFSI have worked closely to coordinate their sanctions regimes,…