Institute for Financial Integrity’s Post

🚨 URGENT ALERT: NCA Issues Red Alert on Russia's Sanctions Circumvention Attempt 🚨 The National Crime Agency (NCA) has issued a RED ALERT, revealing attempts by Russia to circumvent sanctions and procure restricted goods and services. 🌐🔍 Key Points: 🔴 Red Alert Issued: The NCA has raised the alarm about Russia's efforts to sidestep sanctions, posing a significant threat. 🌐 International Implications: This news underscores the importance of vigilant cooperation among nations to curb illicit activities and uphold international sanctions. 🔗 Read the NCA Alert Here: https://lnkd.in/e9i-ntK7 🚨 NCA Red Flags: 3 Key Indicators of Sanctions Evasion 🚨 1.     Newly Incorporated Companies in Diversionary Destinations: Transactions involving companies incorporated after 24th February 2022 based in known diversionary destinations raise significant concerns. 2.     Customer Information Evasion: Red flags emerge when customers lack or refuse to provide essential details on banks, shippers, end users, and company ownership, hindering transparency. 3.     Significant Overpayment for Restricted Items: A customer significantly overpaying for a Common High Priority list item compared to known market prices is a clear indicator of potential sanctions evasion. #NCA #RedAlert #Sanctions #InternationalTrade #StayInformed #SecurityMatters

Sanctions regimes are only as efficient as they are difficult to circumvent. What role do third countries play in sanctions evasion and avoidance (SEA)? What kind of sanctions evasion and avoidance activities can happen through third countries? How can policymakers respond to these challenges?

New sanctions evasion reporting requirements come into force   Effective August 19, reporting entities under the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act must report transactions suspected to be related to sanctions evasion to the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada. These changes are part of government initiatives to combat sanctions evasion that stem from Canada’s 2023 Fall Economic Statement. Learn more about the changes in this article written by my colleagues Alana Scotchmer, Wendy Wagner, Caitlin Schropp and Hunter Fox here: https://bit.ly/4dSNs6Q #gwlgTO #Canadasanctions #sanctionsevasion #AML

Sanctions regimes are only as efficient as they are difficult to circumvent. What role do third countries play in sanctions evasion and avoidance (SEA)? What kind of sanctions evasion and avoidance activities can happen through third countries? How can policymakers respond to these challenges? This new SOC ACE Research Programme paper, authored by Liam O'Shea, Olivia Allison, Gonzalo Saiz and Alexia Anna Hack compared cases of SEA identifying five typologies: 📍 Setting up corporate structures to avoid sanctions; 📍 Evading and avoiding restrictions on the movement of finance and capital; 📍 Trading in military and potential dual-use goods; 📍 Exports of sanctioned Russian commodities; and 📍 Oil smuggling. The paper recommends the following policy responses, among others: 🔵 Policymakers should prioritise countries with economies dependent on the professional advisory, financial services, shipping and logistics sectors. 🔵 Focusing on measures encouraging or precipitating better regulation and policing of these sectors. 🔵 Analysing the role of third countries in SEA by industry sector, not just by country, may help to identify more specific countermeasures. To craft more targeted policy responses, it is essential to understand the role of the factors influencing third countries’ decisions, and the specific features of particular types of SEA. Read the full paper here: https://lnkd.in/exW9XHtu 💻 To learn more about the sanctions policy on Russia, visit the website of the #SIFMANet project, led by Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies (CFCS) at RUSI: https://lnkd.in/eEhN8Jve Tom Keatinge | Gonzalo Saiz | Kinga Redlowska | SOC ACE Research Programme #sanctions #circumvention #compliance

See Skadden's analysis on how the U.S. recently extended the statute of limitations for sanctions violations from five years to 10 years under both the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), which is the principal statutory authority for most U.S. sanctions programs, and the Trading with the Enemy Act (TWEA), which is the principal statutory authority for U.S. sanctions on Cuba. The change applies to any violations of IEEPA or TWEA for which the previous five-year statute of limitations had not yet expired as of the date of the Act, and to any new violations or potential violations of IEEPA or TWEA. The longer statute of limitations may affect assessments regarding whether to voluntarily self-disclose a violation of sanctions to OFAC, particularly in light of the whistleblower provisions in the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 (AMLA), which strengthened whistleblower protections and expanded financial incentives for whistleblowers to report anti-money laundering and sanctions violations.

#sanctions compliance is more complicated than ever! Team Orrick are certainly seeing lots of questions on this topic in the UK, Europe and the US. To help us all out, one of Orrick UK's sanctions experts, Adam Rizzo, has joined forces with the UK Sanctions and Export Control Society to host this webinar - definitely worth checking out!

Latvia and Lithuania are two countries which have published lists of entities established in these countries which are subject to EU #sanctions in accordance with national BO registers and/or decisions of competent authorities (ownership or control criteria). Latvia has also published in the same list entities which are subject to #OFAC sanctions. In Latvia's published list, as of now, there are 59 entries, in Lithuania's - 17. These lists are quite interesting in themselves, and I suggest you add those entities to your watchlists, if not already included by your vendor. Note that even if only EU sanctions relation is indicated, OFAC applicability is also possible, as many of the same individuals/entities are sanctioned both by the EU and OFAC. However, in light of the recent (22/12/2023) U.S. President's expanded mandate vis-a-vis OFAC secondary sanctions risks aimed at foreign financial institutions for significant transactions in any currency (including EUR), particularly interesting are those entities included in the aforementioned lists which are linked to SDN subjects subject to sanctions in accordance with U.S. President's Executive Order #EO14024 (read more: https://lnkd.in/dupUnThe). This is the same Executive Order because of which even Chinese and Turkish banks are now jumping off the Russian ship. Have any other EU countries published lists of locally established entities subject to sanctions? Please share. :) If you are interested in the lists: LV (see the Excel file) - https://lnkd.in/d9efSqBA LT - https://lnkd.in/d_UpbgK6

The Russia sanction regulatory system has been in place in New Zealand for over two years now. If you are a reporting entity under the New Zealand Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Financing of Terrorism Act (AML/CFT Act), you need to consider sanctions. 🌟If you are a reporting entity under the AML/CFT Act, you are also a duty holder under the Russia Sanctions Act. This means that you have freezing, reporting and due diligence obligations. Sanctions monitoring is not part of your AML/CFT obligations, but what you need to do to identify sanctioned individuals and entities is pretty similar to what you need to do for AML/CFT, so it makes sense to look at the two together. 🌟 New Zealand has usually applied United Nations (UN) sanctions, but due to the current climate within the UN Security Council, it is likely that New Zealand will move more towards autonomous sanctions. Currently, we only have sanctions in relation to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but the regulatory framework allows other invasions to be included, if needed. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade has been taking an educational approach so far, but we can expect more enforcement actions in the future. 📲 Get in touch if you want to talk about your sanction obligations and how they can fit into your current AML/CFT compliance.

In today's global marketplace, sanctions compliance is not just a legal requirement, it's a strategic imperative. I'm glad to have attended this insightful conference on "Forging Regulatory Resilience on Sanctions", organised by the The Sanctions Monitoring Board - Malta, delving into various relevant themes namely: ⚖️ The Maltese Sanctions Compliance framework; 🤝 Ways of enhancing sanctions implementation through continuous international collaboration; 📄 Case Studies and Typologies of sanctions compliance in Financial Services, Trade and Maritime; 🌍 Legislative Developments on Sanctions within the National and International scene; Some key takeaways I found noteworthy include: ▶️ The highly complex, cross-border nature of sanctions evasion, underscoring the need for further international collaboration and partnerships; ▶️ The importance of a clear and well-understood legal framework, equally tackling the varying challenges faced by both subject and non-subject persons; ▶️ The need to go beyond merely screening your customer base and understand it more intricately, to effectively assess your sanctions risk exposure; ▶️ The increased complexity makes it vital for operators to invest in specific sanctions training for their employees; ▶️ Investment in Sanctions Compliance is not just about avoiding penalties but paramount to safeguard against reputational risk, enhancing business integrity, and increasing resilience; Thanks goes to all the speakers at the event for their input and the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU) Malta for giving me this opportunity. #SanctionsCompliance #InternationalCollaboration #BusinessIntegrity

Sanctions Watch | Weekly Vol. 56 | 01 July – 07 July 2024 Powered By- PreScreening.io Welcome to the 56th edition of the Sanctions Watch Weekly Digest! In this issue, we present significant updates on sanction watchlists and regulatory developments. Major Headlines: 1. UK issues General Licence for financial instruments at National Settlement Depository (NSD) 2. The European Union (EU) has expanded its sanctions against Belarus to align with existing measures targeting Russia 3. OFSI issues General Licence for UK autonomous sanctions 4. The Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) has issued new guidelines effective August 19, 2024, under Canada’s Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act (PCMLTFA) Read More: https://zurl.co/EvWH Product Insights: https://zurl.co/UFNu #UnitedKingdom #GeneralLicence #FinancialInstruments #DataProtectionRegulations #DesignatedPerson #Belarus #TradeRestrictionsandBans #DualUseGoods #AntiMoneyLaundering #OfficeofFinancialSanctionsImplementation #SanctionsRegimes #UnitedNations #Cryptocurrencies #Canada #TerroristFinancing #EuropeanUnion #SanctionsWatch #InternationalSanctions #EconomicSanctions #RegulatoryCompliance #TradeCompliance #SanctionsEnforcement #SanctionsViolations