03/01/2022 | News release | Distributed by Public on 03/01/2022 10:54
Western nations, including the United States, the United Kingdom and European Union along with Japan, Australia, Switzerland, New Zealand and Canada have imposed what they describe as "strong" and "severe" sanctions on Russia, following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
The new restrictions - which focus on additional individuals being added to watchlists, expanded export controls (especially on high-tech and sensitive technology products) and further isolating the Russian financial system - add to international sanctions already imposed over the past eight years of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
In the immediate aftermath of the Ukraine crisis escalating into armed conflict, the United States and the United Kingdom were quick to impose sanctions, as detailed in an earlier article posted in the Descartes Knowledge Center.
In the days that followed, further curbs were announced in rapid succession by the U.S. and UK as well as new ones by the EU, Canada, Switzerland, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand, with more likely to join.
The common theme is the targeting of Russian elites, banks (including the Central Bank), oil refining industry, and high-tech and military exports. The U.S., UK, EU, and Canada also expelled some Russian banks from SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications), which would disrupt the flow of money in or out of the country. The following is a list of major actions announced:
The extensive nature of these regulatory instruments, combined with the speed of their implementation, creates significant challenges for businesses trying to understand the impacts on their operations. If your company is involved in commercial activities in the Russia/Ukraine region or with Russian-based companies, it is critical to leverage all the tools at your disposal to review and understand the implications of these new restrictions, and to also map the direct potential risk exposure to your supply chain. Appropriate steps include:
In a rapidly-changing environment, organizations need to stay on constant alert to ever-evolving rules and requirements. Or they can save time and resources by relying on proven software solutions that keep the compliance process moving forward like clockwork, with up-to-date screening, classification and related compliance content.
To meet evolving compliance requirements, Descartes adds new entities to its screening lists as government and other official sources update theirs. Lists related to the Ukraine crisis have been updated within our application, and any further additions will similarly be made promptly to help keep our customers in compliance with sanctions and embargoes programs. Appropriate, timely updates are also made to classification and other compliance content.
Descartes is a provider of an industry-leading suite of denied party screening, 3rd party risk management solutions, as well as trade content for leading business systems, that can be integrated with minimal disruption, sometimes in under an hour.
Descartes Visual Compliance and Descartes MK solutions are flexible and modular, allowing organizations to pick the specific and exact functionality and content they need for their particular compliance needs and scale up later as and when necessary.
Director, Industry Strategy, Global Trade Intelligence, Descartes