On 26 December 2023, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced new sanctions measures under the Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law against the following parties for their involvement in the imposition of US restrictive measures on Chinese entities over their links to alleged human rights abuses in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region: US data intelligence firm, Kharon; Edmund Xu, research director of Kharon; and Nicole Morgret, a former human rights analyst at the Centre for Advanced Defence Studies.…
On 29 June 2023, the UK introduced further restrictions to The Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (“UK Russia Regulations”) through the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) (Amendment) (No. 3) Regulations 2023 (the “Amending Regulation”). The principal change enacted by the Amending Regulation is the introduction of restrictions on the provision of certain legal advisory services, which entered into force on 30 June 2023. The Amending Regulation prohibits the direct or indirect provision of legal advisory…
The UK has introduced a sanctions regime designed to target criminal actors, gangs and their financiers whose actions are causing instability in Haiti, pursuant to The Haiti (Sanctions) Regulations 2022, which enter into force on 28 December 2022. The restrictive measures consist of: financial sanctions measures through a targeted asset freeze on designated persons and prohibitions on making funds or economic resources available; trade sanctions, including restrictions on the trade in military goods and military…
On 9 September the Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) and the Prudential Regulation Authority (“PRA”) published a letter to bank CEOs with the purpose of reiterating expectations of firms when undertaking trade finance activities. The Dear CEO letter addressed both conduct and prudential issues where the regulators consider that improvements are required in firms’ controls. The regulators stressed that “firms need to demonstrate that they have taken a risk sensitive approach to their control environment that…