On 16 October 2020, the Export Control Joint Unit (ECJU) published Notice to Exporters 2020/14 to remind relevant exporters to sign up for the EU dual-use open general export licence (OGEL) before the end of the Brexit Transition Period. This OGEL will be required to export dual-use items from the UK to any EU…
On 9 October 2020, the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (“OFSI“) published its Annual Review, providing an overview of OFSI’s activities in the financial year April 2019 to March 2020. A copy of the Annual Review is available here. In addition, OFSI has reminded UK businesses that they must report any frozen…
The European Council has designated 40 individuals under its Belarus sanctions regime, amending Council Regulation (EC) 765/2006. In the UK, the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) has accordingly updated the consolidated list. 5 of these individuals were already sanctioned under the UK’s Global Human Rights regime and are now subject to an…
On 29 September 2020, the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation announced that 8 Belarusian officials, including Alexander Lukashenko, his son Victor, and other senior Belarusian government officials, have been subjected to sanctions (asset freezes and travel bans) under the UK’s autonomous Global Human Rights sanctions regime. This regime was introduced…
On 19 August 2020, members of the European Council held a video conference to discuss the situation in Belarus following the presidential election on 9 August 2020. The President of the European Council stated that the elections in Belarus were “neither free nor fair”, did not meet international standards and…
The UK Government published a notice to exporters on 4 August 2020, stating that the Export Control Joint Unit (ECJU) has removed Hong Kong as a permitted destination from 22 open general licences, including: 20 open general export licences (OGELs); 1 open general transhipment licence (OGTL); and 1 open general…
On 20 July 2020, the UK Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab, announced that the UK will extend to Hong Kong an EU arms embargo that has applied to mainland China since 1989 (the “Arms Embargo”). This extension forms part of the UK Government’s response to the new Hong Kong National Security…
45 UK MPs and peers have signed a letter dated 18 March 2020 calling on Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab, to ensure that the current UK Magnitsky legislation imposes sanctions on kleptocrats and corrupt oligarchs as well as on those who violate human rights. Their principal motivation stems from the fact that currently…
Introduction Following the recent third rejection of the Brexit withdrawal agreement in the UK Parliament, a no-deal Brexit remains firmly on the agenda. This alert sets out some of the main sanctions and export controls issues arising from a no-deal Brexit which are likely to impact upon companies operating in…