Draft Bill on Russian Countermeasures

On May 17, 2018 Draft Bill No. 441399-7 “On Measures (Countermeasures) in Response to Unfriendly Actions of the USA and other Foreign States” (“Draft on Countermeasures“) was approved by the State Duma of the Russian Federation in the second reading. The scope of the proposed countermeasures remained unchanged. For more details, please see our blog post of May 14, 2018.

According to preliminary information, the third reading of the Draft on Countermeasures should be held on May 22, 2018.

Draft Bill on Criminal Liability for Compliance with Sanctions

Another draft, Draft Bill No. 464757-7 “On Amendments to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation” (“Draft“) envisaging criminal liability for complying with Western sanctions, was expected to be considered in its second reading on May 17, 2018. The second reading was postponed because the State Duma received a lot of negative comments from the Russian business community in connection with this Draft. The Draft is expected to be modified to satisfy these concerns.

According to preliminary information, the Draft will be discussed by the Council of the State Duma on May 23, 2018.

Draft Bill on Administrative Liability for Compliance with Sanctions

As announced earlier, Russian lawmakers also intend to introduce a draft bill proposing administrative liability for legal entities that comply with anti- Russian sanctions in Russia. It is expected that this draft bill will be filed with the Russian Parliament and enacted by the end of May 2018. According to preliminary information reported by the Russian media, the administrative violation at issue might be penalized with a fine of up to RUB 50 mln. (approximately USD 804,588). The text of the draft bill has not been officially published.

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