On 20 June 2023, the UK enacted additional amendments to The Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (“Russia Regulations”) through The Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2023 (the “Amendment”). The Amendment makes two principal changes to the Russia Regulations by: expanding the “purpose” for which the Russia Regulations are imposed to include the promotion of compensation payment for damage, loss or injury suffered by Ukraine; and expanding the definition of “non-government controlled…
In addition to the new EU measures, on Thursday 8th June the UK announced additional sanctions against Belarus, which came into force on Friday 9th June. The press release announcing the restrictions is available here, and the amending legislation is here. The new restrictions are intended to restrict sources of revenue to Belarus, combat sanctions circumvention, and reduce the ability of Belarusian media organisations to spread propaganda in the UK. The key measures include: broader…
The UK has adopted The Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) (Amendment) Regulations 2023. See here for an explanatory memorandum accompanying this legislation. The new legislation introduced and expands on current trade sanctions and comes into force today, Friday 21 April 2023. The sanctions significantly expand the restrictions on import and acquisition of revenue generating goods which originate in, or are consigned from, Russia. In particular:• the existing list of goods prohibited for import into the UK…
The UK Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (“OFSI”) has updated its guidance on enforcement and monetary penalties for breaches of financial sanctions (the “Monetary Penalties Guidance”, available here), to include a number of 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. This update to the Monetary Penalties Guidance…