Russia sanctions and considerations in building a sanctions compliance programme

The United States has maintained economic sanctions against Russia since 2014, when Russia annexed the Crimea Region of Ukraine. Over time, these sanctions have developed into one of the most complex sanctions programmes, consisting of a complicated web of trade controls that includes blocking sanctions, geographical restrictions on the Crimea Region, sanctions targeting specific sectors, export controls and the potential for sanctions on non-US Persons conducting transactions with US nexuses and even sometimes with non-US nexus, contrary to US foreign policy objectives. The challenge to adopt and implement appropriate compliance programmes is impacted by the fact that Russia sanctions affect both entities and individuals that are not directly subject to US jurisdiction. For example, transactions processed in US dollars but that otherwise do not involve US parties or counterparties may be subject to Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctions if a US financial institution processed or funded the transaction; additionally, US jurisdiction may be triggered by non-US Persons conducting certain ’significant transactions’ with sanctioned persons and jurisdictions. This paper sets forth an overview of Russia sanctions, as well as recommendations to mitigate exposure to potential violations.