The U.K. government recently established the Office of Trade Sanctions Implementation, focused on stopping companies from evading trade sanctions, particularly those against Russia, and also providing guidance to businesses on complying with trade sanctions.
In a Wall Street Journal article, anticorruption and international risk associate Kevin Nordin said the OFSI has cited resourcing issues as one hurdle it has faced.
“Staffing and resourcing and building expertise takes time. OFSI has been around since 2016; it’s now 2023 and OFSI has nowhere near the expertise of [the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control],” said Kevin. “I think it would be reasonable to say it’s going to take time for [OTSI] to build the expertise and resourcing that is necessary to do what it’s intended to do.”
Anticorruption and international risk partner Amanda Raad noted that OTSI’s ultimate effectiveness will depend on how much power the unit is given.
“It’s one thing to have the people there, but do they have enough power?” said Amanda. “And does it have the political will and the teeth to actually be able to choose to bring those actions and then actually be successful in bringing them?”
Stay Up To Date with Ropes & Gray
Ropes & Gray attorneys provide timely analysis on legal developments, court decisions and changes in legislation and regulations.
Stay in the loop with all things Ropes & Gray, and find out more about our people, culture, initiatives and everything that’s happening.
We regularly notify our clients and contacts of significant legal developments, news, webinars and teleconferences that affect their industries.