Compliance teams in global companies are already grappling with constantly evolving sanctions regimes in the US, UK, and EU. Now, they must also watch countersanctions emerging in countries including Russia and China.
Sanctions
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Data leak reveals Russian fintech providing sanctions-evasion-as-a-service to launder payments via global banks
Billions of dollars have been laundered through big-name global banks by the Russian A7 payments fintech.
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OFSI fines Citibank over Russian sanctions violations
Citibank has been handed a £4.7 million fine after its London branch violated the U.K.’s Russian sanctions regime by processing nearly £20 million in illegal payments to designated individuals and organizations.
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How ordinary Russian investors got caught in the sanctions net
When sanctions against Russia began multiplying in 2022, the public images were hard to miss: Yachts seized in European ports, villas frozen, bank accounts linked to oligarchs blocked. What I remember from the compliance side looked less visible and much more procedural. It was passports, residence permits, source-of-wealth documents, ownership charts, explanations of old bank […]
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Inconsistent sanctions programs leave compliance struggling, while shadow fleet ships slip beneath the radar
Russian “shadow-fleet” ships are using simple tactics to evade sanctions from the U.S., U.K, and EU.
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Enforcement set to ramp up over sanctions compliance, warn lawyers
When the U.K.’s financial regulator reported that firms’ sanctions compliance had fallen short in multiple areas, it was a warning to the sector that improvements need to be made—and quickly—as oversight and enforcement are set to be cranked up.
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Sanctions are evolving fast. Ashurst Perkins Coie’s Jamie Schafer on why compliance is more critical than ever
Jamie Schafer, co-chair of the regulatory compliance and disputes practice at Ashurst Perkins Coie in Washington, D.C., explains why compliance teams must be involved at strategic and product level and where to expect new risks to emerge.
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U.S. continues to dominate sanctions penalties, but EU and U.K. penalties are increasing
Sanctions regimes in the U.S., U.K. and EU are evolving rapidly, causing continual changes, and the penalties for failure – civil and criminal – are potentially huge. Multiple inconsistent sanctions lists and increased focus on supply chains and third-party entities are making compliance for global organizations a full-time headache.
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FCA calls out good and poor practices in sanctions reporting
Financial firms have made progress in preventing sanctions breaches, but serious gaps in governance and compliance remain, which are likely to result in keener regulatory scrutiny and potentially more penalties in the future, say experts.
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Sanctions penalty for Scottish energy company marks ‘new era’ of sanctions enforcement
A Scottish energy company has become the first to be named by the U.K. customs and excise authority for breaching Russian sanctions rules.