On 19 December, the European Council extended the application of economic sanctions targeting specific sectors of the Russian economy for a further six months until 31 July 2017. These restrictions were introduced on 31 July 2014 by way of Council Regulation (EU) No 833/2014 “concerning restrictive measures in view of Russia’s actions destabilising the situation in … Continue Reading
North Korea – Money Laundering Designation. Last week, the U.S. Department of the Treasury designated North Korea as a jurisdiction of “primary money-laundering concern” under Section 311 of the USA Patriot Act on Wednesday. This will allows Washington to further limit North Korea’s access to the U.S. financial system. Under the new designation, non-U.S. banks … Continue Reading
G-7 Leaders’ Declaration. The G-7 Leaders’ Declaration issued on Friday from Ise-Shima, Japan, touched on topics such as the global economy, trade, maritime security, cyberspace, anti-corruption, infrastructure, global health challenges, climate change and female empowerment. The Leaders advocated TPP member states ratify the agreement, while also addressing the global excess steel capacity issue, government subsidies … Continue Reading
In what appears to be something of a trend in favor of summary dispositions, the International Trade Commission (ITC) has affirmed summary determination rulings of patent invalidity in two, separate investigations: Certain Wireless Headsets, Inv. No. 337-TA-943 and Certain Automated Teller Machines and Point of Sale Devices and Associated Software Thereof, Inv. No. 337-TA-958. The … Continue Reading
EU renews its sanctions on Burma/Myanmar until 30 April 2017. These measures impose an embargo on providing Burma/Myanmar with arms and goods that might be used for internal repression. Council Decision 2016/627 amends Decision 2013/184/CFSP. In the US, Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced on 17 May 2016 amendments to the Burmese Sanctions Regulations as well as corresponding … Continue Reading
The two-part guidance provides a general overview of the application of the UK’s financial sanctions framework, as well as providing practical examples of how the OFSI will generally approach licencing and compliance questions.… Continue Reading
In the weeks preceding President Obama’s historic visit to Cuba, the US Treasury Department’s OFAC announced new measures to further ease economic sanctions against the country. Like other sanctions relief measures implementing the President’s shift in policy toward Cuba, these recent measures are directed to further support the Cuban people. Among other things, they expand to individual travellers the … Continue Reading
OFAC announced settlement agreements with Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank (CACIB) and Banco do Brasil for apparent violations of US sanctions. CACIB agreed to pay a total of US$787.3 million in criminal and civil financial penalties, which included penalties assessed by multiple government authorities, in connection with thousands of apparent violations of US sanctions. … Continue Reading
The guidance notes that although the sanctions may engender additional procedural steps, they do not prevent parties from referring their arbitral disputes to EU-based institutions. The paper observes that “these sanctions do not result in a substantial change in the administration of arbitral proceedings”. However, it cautions that there are situations where an arbitration involves … Continue Reading
