Current sanctions against Russia and associated compliance risks for companies: An overview

What measures form part of the EU sanctions package?

The sanction measures forming part of the various sanctions packages and found in various EU regulations are complex and multi-layered, making their full scope difficult to present or summarise.

The EU has imposed a range of restrictions including an arms embargo, trade restrictions on dual-use goods and certain goods for the oil industry, comprehensive capital market restrictions, and other tightening measures including restrictions on the export of very specific goods that could, for example, help Russia achieve technological improvements in its defence and security sector.

More severe restrictions have been placed on aviation and aerospace goods, iron and steel products, luxury goods, coal and solid fossil fuels, and high-tech goods. These include restrictive measures being imposed on Russian aircraft (take off, landing, overflight), as well as on road transport companies, which are now prohibited from transporting goods by road in the EU. Ships sailing under the Russian flag are banned from entering ports of the European Union. The most recent sanctions provisions hit the oil sector in particular, as they include a complete ban on imports of Russian crude oil and crude oil products by sea, which affects about 90% of current oil imports from Russia.

The EU sanctions also include trade restrictions for specific legal persons or individuals, irrespective of the products concerned. The sanctions also list individuals and entities specifically referred to as "asset freeze targets", and these are subject to the so-called “provision prohibition” meaning that the provision of any funds or financial resources – whether directly or indirectly – to such “asset freeze targets” is prohibited. Furthermore, all funds and economic resources of such asset freeze targets are to be frozen. Both the provision prohibition and the freezing of funds also apply to legal persons, entities or bodies owned or controlled by an asset freeze target. The list of asset freeze targets is continuously being expanded and it currently comprises 1175 individuals and 101 organisations.

To whom do the EU sanctions against Russia apply?

In principle, the EU sanctions apply whenever there is a link to the EU, meaning that the EU sanctions apply:

• within the territory of the EU, including its air space;
• on board any aircraft or vessel under the jurisdiction of an EU member state;
• to persons who are citizens of a EU member state, both within and outside of the territory of the EU;
• to legal persons, entities or organisations established or registered under the laws of an EU member state within and outside of the territory of the EU; and
• to legal persons, entities or organisations with respect to transactions conducted, in whole or in part, within the EU.

Many business activities are likely to come within the scope of the EU sanctions regime as a large number of businesses either employ citizens of EU member states or part of the business is conducted within the EU.

What challenges do companies face in connection with the sanctions against Russia?

The biggest challenges in correctly dealing with the sanctions against Russia arise from several circumstances:

Firstly, the EU sanctions against Russia are very complex in terms of their thematic scope, so most businesses and/or industries will need to undertake a comprehensive review to establish whether their activities could infringe the EU sanctions.

Secondly, the sanctions against Russia are not bundled in a uniform EU regulation. Instead, there are various sets of rules and regulations, each of which are also linked to different legal consequences.

Thirdly, the EU sanctions against Russia are continuously being amended. Six new sanction packages have already been enacted as of June 2022, meaning that affected companies have to continuously review the most recent provisions and adapt their business activities accordingly. Moreover, the new regulations lack clarity. Both within the individual EU sanctions regulations, but also in the interactions with other sets of regulations, there are many substantive inconsistencies that can lead to uncertainty, both in terms of the scope and the sanctioned content of the individual provisions. Both the EU authorities and national supervisory authorities have already reacted to these inconsistencies, have raised individual questions in connection with the sanctions and issued various guidelines and directives to make the handling of the sanctions easier. However, such guidance is not comprehensive and may only the most frequently asked questions. This situation is complicated by the fact that even persons with practical experience including competent supervisory authorities, have no expertise in dealing with the new sanctions, as regulations of this type simply did not exist before.

What measures do affected companies have to take now?

Violation of EU sanctions may result in severe consequences both for companies and for individuals. Companies themselves may face fines of up to €10m under administrative offences law and individuals involved may even face prison sentences for certain types of violations.

For this reason, companies with business connections to Russia should identify them very carefully and examine the risks potentially arising under the EU sanctions regime. Depending on the risk exposure identified, appropriate adjustments should then be made to the company's compliance management system (CMS) to provide the best possible protection for individual employees and the entire company. It is quite possible that, with regard to at least some business relationships, the implementation of additional compliance measures may not be sufficient, with the consequence that these business relationships may need to even be terminated.