On 21 February, the UK Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (“OFSI”), announced that it had issued a monetary penalty totaling GBP 36,393.45 to Clear Junction Limited (“Clear Junction”), a provider of payment services. This penalty follows (and is associated with) OFSI’s earlier GBP 50,000 penalty against TransferGo, announced in August 2021 (see our previous blog post here). The monetary penalty related to 15 transactions made to accounts held by non-sanctioned parties with the Russian National…

On 10 February 2022, the UK Government published amendments to its Russian sanctions programme, enabling it to designate a wide variety of parties “involved in […] obtaining a benefit from or supporting the Government of Russia”. No new designations have been made at this time, but the UK Government has previously indicated that the powers are intended to be used in response to any Russian incursion into Ukraine. The amendment came into force at 5pm…

Following from the success of our webinar on the recent Russia-Ukraine developments on 3 February, which focused on the various trade and sanctions implications, we are pleased to be hosting two follow-up webinars. Both sessions will be 30 minutes in length and focus specifically on the latest developments and operational considerations on the ground in Ukraine and Russia. The first 30-minute webinar hosted by our Ukraine experts in Kyiv on Thursday 10 February 16:00 -…

On 24 January 2022 the European Council approved certain conclusions asserting that European security is indivisible, that challenges to the European security order affects the security of the EU and its member states, and that the EU will provide unwavering support for the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine and other neighbouring states. The European Council has condemned Russia’s actions with respect to Ukraine and has stated that further military action by Russia against…