The United States blacklisted a small Chinese bank accused of illicit dealings with North Korea on Thursday, escalating the pressure on Beijing to rein in its wayward ally amid increased signs of frustration among President Donald Trump and his top advisers with China’s diplomatic efforts. The Treasury Department declared the Bank of Dandong a “primary money-laundering concern,” […]

New sanctions authorities and expanded enforcement capacities in the UK are introducing an important compliance consideration for companies around the world. The UK Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) reportedly opened 125 investigations between March 2016 and July 2017. The OFSI also revealed that there are 60 “live” investigations into organisations suspected of breaching the […]

NEW sanctions against individuals connected with acts of atrocity in the Central African Republic have been brought into effect in Jersey on 23 sept 2017, following the execution of a ministerial decision. See links below and JEP news article. In line with new EU legislation, the order extends sanctions to individuals involved in ‘planning, directing […]

The government has published plans for a bill that would give it the legal power to impose sanctions after it leaves the European Union. The UK currently negotiates and imposes non-UN sanctions against specific countries through EU laws. Without the new legislation, it would not have the legal authority to enforce those sanctions. The UK […]

The European Council has unanimously agreed to extend economic sanctions targeting the Russian economy by 6 months, until 31 January 2018. The extension is a result of the failure to fully implement the Minsk Agreements. The sanctions, originally introduced in July 2014 in response to Russia’s actions in Ukraine, focus on the financial, energy and […]

Jersey currently implements and enforces restrictive measures relating to financial sanctions (including targeted financial sanctions related to terrorism and terrorist financing) in respect of the jurisdictions listed below. AFGHANISTAN (13-04-2017) AL-QAIDA (22-06-2017) BELARUS (21-12-2016) BURMA (MYANMAR) (16-12-2016) BURUNDI (16-12-2016) CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC (22-06-2017) DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO (08-06-2017) EGYPT (24-04-2017) ERITREA (21-12-2016) HAITI (ONLY APPLIES […]

From April 2017, UK companies breaching financial sanctions may be hit with a £1 million penalty. Following new powers under the UK Policing and Crime Act, the UK’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation in the UK (OFSI) can: Impose civil penalties of up to £1 million for breaches relating to financial funds, or 50% of […]

On 1 April, HM Treasury received new powers to impose potentially significant monetary penalties on companies and individuals for breaches of financial sanctions law. These are an alternative to criminal enforcement, which remains an option. The new monetary penalties regime will be administered by the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation within HM Treasury (OFSI), which has […]