On 15 October 2026, the UK introduced an expanded human rights sanctions regime, via the UK’s new Global Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law Sanctions Regulations 2026 (the “2026 Regulations”). The 2026 Regulations revoke and replace the Global Human Rights Sanctions Regulations 2020 (the “2020 Regulations”). These reforms notably enable the UK to impose sanctions for serious violations of international humanitarian law, as well as for obstructions of humanitarian assistance and conduct that seriously violates…
Earlier this month, as part of Operation Economic Outcast targeting Iran, the US Department of the Treasury ushered in a flurry of administrative and regulatory changes. On September 10, 2026, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) modified its Iran-related specific licensing policy, announced a settlement agreement, and updated the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List (“SDN List”). These changes landed two days after OFAC’s September 8, 2026 action against Iran’s aviation sector, which…
On June 23, 2026, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) and HM Treasury’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (“OFSI”) published a joint statement reflecting on their latest Enhanced Partnership exchange and issued a new joint guidance document that provides a comparative overview of the US and UK sanctions regimes. The joint statement and guidance follow a January 2026 in-person meeting between OFSI and OFAC. The statement and accompanying guidance…
On 19 May 2026, the UK Government published the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) (Amendment) Regulations 2026 (SI 2026/543) (the “Amendment Regulations”), introducing numerous amendments to the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (the “Regulations”). The Amendment Regulations introduce certain new trade prohibitions and expand existing controls across the Russia sanctions regime. The Amendment Regulations come into force on 20 May 2026 and, in short, include: Supplementing this, the Office of Trade Sanctions Implementation (“OTSI”) issued…