The Office of Financial Sanction Implementation's ("OFSI") Annual Review for 2023-2024 provides valuable insights into how the UK's financial sanctions regime has continued to develop. We explore some of the key trends for...more
The UK Parliament's Joint Committee on Human Rights has launched a new inquiry into forced labour in UK supply chains. This review will assess the effectiveness of the UK's legal and voluntary frameworks, including the Modern...more
On 24 April 2024, the EU adopted a new directive (Directive (EU) 2024/1226 of the European Parliament and of the Council) which establishes EU-wide rules for defining criminal offences and penalties related to the violation...more
5/28/2024
/ Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
EU Directive ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Germany ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Member State ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Sanction Violations ,
Sanctions ,
UK
In relation to Russia, the UK has introduced a new sanctions prohibition on the provision of legal advisory services, amended the process for the investigation of trade sanctions offences, and added the Kherson and...more
The UK has sanctioned 'financial fixers' for Russian oligarchs, extended the trust services prohibition to all persons subject to the asset freeze, and issued a General Licence permitting the restructuring or amendment of...more
Explore the data The conflict in Ukraine and subsequent sanctions have had a chilling effect on M&A involving Russian entities, as these assets are now squarely off-limits for US buyers.
The Office of Foreign Assets...more
The Subsidy Control Bill (the "SCB"), first introduced by the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (the "BEIS") on 30 June 2021, is making its way through the House of Lords ahead of expected adoption in...more
The UK has left the EU but there remains a vast array of operational and legal issues for businesses to address. See below for our perspectives on the key challenges and opportunities that Brexit presents for different...more
The UK has left the EU but there remains a vast array of operational and legal issues for businesses to address. See below for our perspectives on the key challenges and opportunities that Brexit presents for different...more
The UK has left the EU but there remains a vast array of operational and legal issues for businesses to address. See below for our perspectives on the key challenges and opportunities that Brexit presents for different...more
8/3/2021
/ Data Protection ,
Dispute Resolution ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Germany ,
Italy ,
Member State ,
State Aid ,
Technology Sector ,
Trade Agreements ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
Withdrawal Agreement
The UK has left the EU but there remains a vast array of operational and legal issues for businesses to address. See below for our perspectives on the key challenges and opportunities that Brexit presents for different...more
On 26 April 2021, the UK government brought into force a new sanctions regime, designed to target individuals involved in serious corruption and prevent them from entering the UK or using the UK financial system. To date, 22...more
It has now been a year since the UK exited the EU and a matter of months since the transition period came to an end. For the most part, there have not been major changes to environmental regulation in the UK. Instead, the UK...more
State aid remained one of the key sticking points in Brexit negotiations right until the announcement of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement ("TCA") on Christmas Eve 2020. One of the key priorities of the European Union...more
2/8/2021
/ BEIS ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Financial Assistance Policies ,
Judicial Review ,
Member State ,
State Aid ,
Subsidies ,
Trade Relations ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
On 6 July 2020, the UK adopted its first autonomous sanctions regime, imposing asset freezes and travel bans on 47 individuals and two entities across the world accused of serious human rights violations. The new regime marks...more
The UK sanctions authority, the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI), has announced its first multi million pound fine since its establishment in 2016. The fine confirms OFSI’s increasing enforcement activity...more
France, Germany and the United Kingdom, known as the “E3”, announced on 14 January 2020 that they had triggered the dispute resolution mechanism under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (“JCPOA”) due to concerns about...more
1/17/2020
/ China ,
Dispute Resolution ,
E3+3 ,
Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
Failure to Perform ,
France ,
Germany ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) ,
Russia ,
UK ,
UN Security Council ,
United Nations ,
Winding Down
On May 8, 2019, following Iran's announcement that it intends to suspend certain nuclear proliferation-related commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the United States issued a new Executive order...more
5/14/2019
/ Blocking Sanctions ,
Blocking Statutes ,
CAPTA List ,
China ,
Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Financial Institutions (FFI) ,
France ,
Germany ,
IFCA ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) ,
Metals ,
Nuclear Power ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
Prohibited Transactions ,
SDN List ,
Steel Industry ,
Suspensions ,
Trump Administration ,
UK ,
Waivers
On May 2, 2019, claimants began filing lawsuits for the first time under Title III of the Helms-Burton Act against third parties alleged to be "trafficking" in property of US nationals confiscated by the Cuban Government...more
5/9/2019
/ Blocking Statutes ,
Canada ,
Confiscated Property ,
Cuba ,
EU ,
FSCS ,
Helms-Burton Act ,
Orders of Prohibition ,
Personal Remittance Caps ,
Sanction Suspensions ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Third-Party ,
Title III ,
Trafficking ,
Travel Restrictions ,
Trump Administration ,
UK ,
US Department of State
With Brexit looming, the UK's autonomous sanctions policy is slowly taking shape. This month saw the publication of regulations setting out the post-Brexit UK sanctions regimes for Iran, Burma and Venezuela, which will come...more
3/4/2019
/ Asset Freeze ,
Blocking Statutes ,
Burma ,
Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
General Licenses ,
Information Sharing ,
Iran ,
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) ,
No-Deal Brexit ,
Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) ,
Ownership Rules ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Right to Control ,
Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018 (SAMLA) ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
Venezuela
On 31 January 2019, France, Germany and the United Kingdom (the "E3") announced the registration in France of INSTEX SAS ("Instrument for Supporting Trade Exchanges"), which is a special purpose vehicle aimed at facilitating...more
2/14/2019
/ AML/CFT ,
Blocking Statutes ,
EU ,
FATF ,
France ,
Germany ,
INSTEX ,
International Atomic Energy Agency ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) ,
Special Purpose Vehicles ,
UK ,
United Nations
The EU (Withdrawal) Act 2018 requires Parliament to pass a motion approving the withdrawal agreement and the framework for the future relationship between the UK and the EU. This so-called 'meaningful vote' was due to take...more