Sanctions tracker: UK issues general licence in respect of legal services restrictions

The UK introduced restrictions on the provision of legal services to Russia in June 2023 (as summarised in our previous post). Since then, the legal industry has raised a number of concerns about the drafting of the relevant legislation, culminating in the issuance of a new general licence (the "GL") which seeks to address some of the most significant unintended consequences arising from the new restrictions. In this post, we review the provisions of the GL and the remaining issues with these restrictions, as well as providing a round-up of key recent Russia sanctions developments in the UK and EU. Read more

Sanctions tracker – UK introduces legal services restrictions

The UK's long-awaited sanctions restricting the provision of legal services to Russia were announced on 29 June. The announcement gives a somewhat misleading impression of the law, and we summarise the new restrictions in this post. The new measures are introduced by the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) (Amendment) (No. 3) Regulations 2023 (the "Amending Regulations"), which amend the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (the "Russia Regulations"). Read more

Sanctions tracker: EU adopts 11th sanctions package and UK introduces Russia-related legislation

Following its announcement of an 11th package of Russia sanctions in May (which we covered here), the European Union has now adopted the package. Key elements of the 11th sanctions package include fresh targeted sanctions against individuals and entities, an enlargement of restrictions on the sale, export and transit of certain goods and technology, as well as additional measures to prevent sanctions circumvention.  We summarise the key elements in this post, along with a round-up of other recent sanctions developments from the UK. Read more

Sanctions Tracker: US update – Treasury Expands and Intensifies Sanctions Against Russia by Targeting Key Sectors, Evasion Efforts, and Military Supplies

On February 24, 2023, the one-year anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced significant actions that targeted Russia’s financial services sector, sanctions evasions, Russia’s military supply chain, and metals and mining sector. Under the authority of Executive Order 14024, OFAC targeted the metals and mining sector and imposed sanctions on 22 individuals and 83 entities. OFAC also designated over 30 third-country individuals and companies connected to Russia’s sanctions evasion efforts, including those related to arms trafficking and illicit finance. Read more