On August 9, 2024, the US, EU, UK and Canada released a joint statement announcing new sanctions against Belarus, referring to the fourth anniversary of fraudulent presidential elections in Belarus that resulted in Alexander Lukashenko remaining in power. These authorities cited Belarus’s support for Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and ongoing human rights abuses in Belarus as the motivations for the latest round of sanctions. Members of our global sanctions team in the US, EU, UK and Canada summarize the latest developments and their implications below. These developments highlight the importance of robust corporate compliance programs that include screening and due diligence procedures designed to address these different jurisdictions’ rules, as well as processes and training to identify and address sanctions evasion red flags.
US Developments
The United States Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) imposed sanctions against 19 individuals, 14 entities, and one aircraft. This includes parties that OFAC determined to have been involved in supporting Russia’s war in Ukraine by military resource production and transshipment of goods to Russia. The sanctions also target those who are evading sanctions and generating revenue for Belarusian oligarchs. These designated parties are listed in OFAC’s recent action and the accompanying Treasury Department press release. These new sanctions targets include:
- Two Belarus-based logistics entities determined to be involved in the management of border crossing logistics and transportation services through Belarus to Russia, including the re-export of machinery, hydrocarbons, and Western European goods to Russia.
- A Belarus-based entity focused on research and development in the natural sciences
- Three private Belarusian cargo airline companies; and
- A Belarusian developer and manufacturer of precision coordinate systems, including high precision milling and engraving products and services.
US Persons are generally prohibited from dealing, directly or indirectly, with SDNs, entities that are owned 50% or more by one or more SDNs, and their property or property interests. Non-US persons can be held liable for “causing” violations by US Persons involving transactions with SDNs and can also be subject to secondary sanctions risks for providing “material support” to SDNs. Secondary sanctions risks include the risk of being designated as an SDN.
OFAC issued one new general license, General License No. 101, which authorizes, subject to conditions, certain transactions related to the provision, exportation, or re-exportation of goods, technology, or services to ensure the safety of civil aviation involving certain of the newly designated SDNs, or the wind down of any transaction involving those SDNs. The general license’s authorizations extend through 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time, September 10, 2024.
EU Developments
The European Council announced sanctions against an additional 28 individuals that it determined to be responsible for ongoing internal repression and human rights abuses in Belarus. The additional listings include:
- Two deputy heads of the Main Department for Combating Organised Crime and Corruption (Bel. HUBAZiK / Rus. GUBOPiK) of the Ministry of Internal Affairs;
- Members of the judiciary, including prosecutors and judges determined to have issued politically motivated sentences against citizens who protested the fraudulent presidential elections;
- Heads of correctional institutions; and
- Regime propagandists determined to have spread disinformation including the director-general of the largest State news agency, Belarusian Telegraph Agency (BelTA) and the previous head of Lukashenko’s press service.
This update follows the EU’s introduction of a new Belarus sanctions package on 29 June 2024. For further details see our alert which is accessible here.
Under EU sanctions law, no funds or economic resources can be made available, directly or indirectly, to or for the benefit of a sanctioned party. In general, provided that there is an EU nexus, it is prohibited to engage in dealings with persons that are sanctioned directly, or that are sanctioned indirectly by virtue of ownership or control. Sanctioned individuals are also subject to a travel ban, which prevents them from entering or transiting through EU territories.
UK Developments
The UK Government imposed new sanctions against 4 individuals and 3 entities from Belarus, in response to Belarus’s human rights violations and ongoing facilitation of Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine. This new wave of sanctions takes the total number of Belarusian designated parties in the UK to over 150. Newly designated individuals and entities are subject to an asset freeze and trust services sanctions. Among those sanctioned are:
- Four present or former commanding officers of Belarusian prisons; and
- Three Belarusian entities in the defence and military industrial sector determined to have exported goods to Russia for use in its military.
Canada Developments
Global Affairs Canada announced that Canada is imposing sanctions against 10 individuals and 6 entities under Schedule 1 of the Special Economic Measures (Belarus) Regulations. The additional listings include:
- Judges determined to have arbitrarily condemned and sentenced citizens for expressing their opposition to the fraudulent elections of 2020;
- Individuals determined to have coordinated military production in Belarus and in close coordination with Russia;
- Five entities determined to be part of the Belarus’s military-industrial complex providing production or repair of military equipment for Russia; and
- One Belarusian state-owned enterprise determined to have suppressed its employees’ rights to peaceful assembly and association.
Schedule 1 of the Belarus Regulations imposes a dealings prohibition against the individuals and entities listed, effectively freezing any assets they hold in Canada. Individuals listed are also rendered inadmissible to Canada under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.
