New regulations tighten financial sanctions’ grip

An increasingly aggressive approach to pursuing breaches of sanctions violations has seen the reporting requirement extended to independent legal professionals. In some circumstances legal services related to restructuring of finance or even preparing the documents required to raise capital on the markets could amount to a violation, reports Anna Rothwell.

Anna Rothwell is a senior associate at law firm Corker Binning, where she specialises in general and business crime, fraud, as well as regulatory matters. Contact her on ar@corkerbinning.com.

Solicitors and other professionals must be wary of committing a criminal offence if they fail to report information that could undermine the administration of United Kingdom, European Union and United Nations sanctions regimes. Previously, enforcement action could only be taken against financial service firms. The Solicitors Regulation Authority has warned solicitors that they would now face enforcement action if they failed to report a known or suspected financial sanctions breach.