Sanctions against Russia: Legal advice by Interlegal for European client

Since full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation into Ukraine, countries worldwide have adopted an unprecedented number of sanctions against the aggressor. Today, Russia ranks first among countries in the number of sanctions imposed and is almost twice ahead of Iran.

The EU has approved five sets of sanctions, which have already entered into force and have commenced restricting business activities with Russia. A client – European company that deals with international trade – applied to Interlegal for advice.

The client wanted to verify lawfulness of the current work scheme and its compliance with sanctions. Interlegal lawyers analyzed a whole range of issues and drafted a legal opinion with clarifications for the client.

Legal opinions upon sanctions are always complex, since they are associated with high risk, and should take into account all work conditions and specifications for particular client. In particular, the following should be verified:

· counteragents’ companies (as well as their owners);

· scope of the client’s activity (what goods and services are purchased/sold);

· contractual settlement currency;

· banks involved in transactions (as well as their owners);

· other specifications depending on the client’s activity.

No doubt, a set of sanctions imposed on the Russian Federation will expand, while business entities will need to follow the updates of sanctions lists.