The European Union Financial Sanctions (Amendment of Information Provisions) Regulations 2017 (the regulations) came into force on 8 August. The regulations extend to independent legal professionals and other relevant businesses or professionals the requirement to inform the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) of known or suspected financial sanctions breaches. (An independent legal professional is defined in […]

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 […]

New penalties for serious financial sanctions breaches come into force from 3 April 2017. The measures in the Policing and Crime Act 2017 (PCA 2017) empower the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) to use new powers to impose penalties of up to £1 million or 50% of the breach, whichever is higher, for serious […]

Sanctions are in place in respect of North Korea. For more information, see Practice note, Sanctions: breach of prohibitions. The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) has published guidance on the requirements for credit and financial institutions under the new measures in Article 5a of the amended EU Regulation 329/2007 (the Regulation) introduced on 4 […]

The Summer Budget 2015 contained a commitment to significantly revamp the UK’s approach to the implementation and to the enforcement of financial sanctions, at both the administrative and legislative level. These changes have now begun to be introduced, through the creation of the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (“OFSI”) within Her Majesty’s Treasury (“HMT”) and […]

On 5 April 2016, HM Treasury updated the guide to the approach of the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) to financial sanctions when it issues licences and considers compliance. The updated guide is not legal advice but simply a guide to the approach which the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) takes when issuing […]

On 31 March 2016, HM Treasury announced that the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (“OFSI”) had officially been established. In their announcement, HM Treasury said: “OFSI will provide a high-quality service to the private sector, working closely with law enforcement to help ensure that financial sanctions are properly understood, implemented and enforced.” Chancellor George Osborne said: […]