Financial, economic and trade sanctions and embargoes
Applicable principles and best practices for compliance within your organization
All companies, whether financial or industrial, are currently facing major challenges, particularly with regard to financial, economic and trade sanctions and embargoes imposed at international, multilateral, European, third country and Belgian levels. Since the start of the Russian-Ukrainian war, sanctions and embargoes have significantly evolved and affected the global economy. Given the current international situation, it is likely that they will continue to have significant implications for companies.
Compliance with international regulations concerning sanctions and embargoes, and the fight against money laundering, is a complex task, given the technical nature of the subject and the number of standards involved. All companies and organizations must understand the regulations that apply to them, put in place effective processes to maintain compliance, avoid engaging in non-compliant conduct, and reduce risk of sanctions, fines and liability that can drastically impact their reputation and viability.
This morning seminar has been designed to help you meet the challenges of understanding the various regulations, complying with obligations, putting effective processes in place, maintaining your organization's reputation and mitigating risks. Exceptional focus has been put on providing real-case examples, case studies and illustrations to help you apply the takeaways of the day in real-time.
Join us this morning to benefit from our expertise in sanctions and embargoes, and to discuss these issues with your peers.
The morning will be led by:
Michaël Fernandez-Bertier
Partner Ethics & Compliance
Sanctions Compliance Expert
Attorney-at-law member of the New York bar
Lecturer at Universities
Board member of Transparency International Belgium
- Develop an overview of developments in applicable sanctions and embargoes
- Implement effective processes to maintain compliance with sanctions, embargoes and anti-money laundering regulations
- Identify and reduce the risks associated with non-compliance with embargoes and sanctions
- Take concrete and appropriate measures to avoid sanctions, fines or liability claims against legal entities and their managers
- Identify the operational and communication actions to be taken to reinforce the trust and loyalty of your organization's stakeholders
- Secure your positions and enhance your organization's integrity
Skills acquired
- Understanding the issues involved in sanctions and embargoes and the implications for organisations and their stakeholders
- Knowledge of changes in the rules on embargoes and sanctions
- Mastery of legal, technical and compliance aspects
- Understanding the challenges of the system
- Understanding ethical issues
- Developing the right governance reflexes in the light of legislation
Accreditations
- The organiser is accredited by the FSMA Accreditation no.: 500036A and 50036B 1 point per hour
- ABILWAYS Belgium is also recognised by the FSMA as part of the ongoing training of compliance officers (3.5 points for this morning)
- OVB - OBFG / IBJ - IJE / ITAA / National Chamber of Notaries / Bailiffs: on request
- Need another accreditation? Please let us know before the conference
Functions:
- Shareholders, directors, officers and executives
- Legal directors and their staff
- Operations managers
- Jurists, lawyers, consultants, magistrates, treasury staff
- Finance managers, auditors, accountants, tax specialists, bankers
- Compliance officers
- Risk analysts
- Sales representatives and person in contact with the public (PCP), with customers
- Anyone interested in changes in criminal law and criminal procedure law, and their impact on their profession.
Organisations:
- Financial institutions operating on international markets
- Commercial and investment banks
- Securities brokers
- Insurance companies
- Investment fund managers
- Companies dealing in foreign currencies
- Companies involved in international trade (exporters and/or importers)
- Government bodies involved in foreign trade activities
Introduction to current sanctions and embargoes
- Sanctions in a nutshell: definition, prohibition or restriction?
- Diversity of sanctions: financial, economic and trade restrictive measures
- Overlapping of sanctions: interplay of supranational, national and third country sanctions
- How to carry out an effective mapping of applicable sanctions
- Applicable legal bases for sanctions compliance
- Relevant authorities and their role in ensuring sanctions compliance
- Consequences in case of non-compliance and sanctions breach
Third country sanctions compliance
- US sanctions interplay with EU Sanctions: how may US export controls, primary sanctions, secondary sanctions, and US nexus theory impact your organization?
- UK sanctions interplay with EU Sanctions: how may recent policies on UK nexus, exposure and enforcement impact your organization?
- Interplay of UN, US, UK and EU sanctions: how to navigate?
Financial sanctions compliance
- Asset freeze and reporting obligations
- Interplay with AML obligations: convergences and differences
- Interplay of multinational sanctions regimes and exposure: how to decipher and implement?
- Who must be screened?
- UBOs screening: the own and control theories (US v. UK v. EU)
- How to screen?
- When and at what frequency to screen?
- Fuzzy matching and true/false hits: where to place the cursor and how to confirm?
- True sanction hit: how to react, who to contact, what actions to take?
Economic and trade sanctions compliance
- Identification of (comprehensively) sanctioned countries and territories
- Identification of sensitive sectors, goods and services
- Dual-use goods: how to identify them? Are they subject to prohibition or prior authorization?
- How to conduct due diligence on economic and trade embargoes?
- HS, CN, EAR codes: how to decipher and use for sanctions compliance purposes?
- How to investigate financial transactions relating to goods imports and exports for sanctions compliance?
- Economic or trade sanction hit: how to react, who to contact, what actions to take?
Russia and Ukraine-related sanctions
- A summary description of sanctions applying to following sectors, goods, and services:
- Financial sector
- Energy
- Transport
- Defence
- Raw materials and other goods
- Services
- How to deal with parties established in Russia or Ukraine?
Circumvention of sanctions
- Background and illustrations: a (not so) new trend and focus
- How to identify countries (allegedly) involved in (Russian) sanctions circumvention?
- What guidance is available for sanctions circumvention purposes?
- Is your organization subject to use for sanctions circumvention?
- How to implement a sanctions circumvention due diligence process: relevant risk factors and flags
Sanctions compliance in practice: tips & tricks
- How to conduct a sanctions overall risk assessment?
- Risk-based or rule-based approach: an end to the debate?
- How to define and implement an adequate sanctions compliance framework?
- How to determine and implement sound sanctions policy, procedure and controls?
- What contractual language to implement to protect you from sanctions breaches?
- What digital tools are available to further sanctions compliance?
- Blacklisting, exiting, suspending, ring-fencing, whitelisting: how to manage sensitive business relationships?