- Chief Compliance Officer and VP of Legal Affairs, Arrow Electronics
By 
Ruth Prickett2024-10-03T16:02:00
Global sanctions rules are increasing rapidly, as are tools to detect and punish those who break them. In response, the U.K. government is creating a new Office of Trade Sanctions Implementation (OTSI) to investigate and penalize those who break sanctions rules. The consequences can be financial and even criminal, as well as causing reputational damage, loss of professional status, or being barred from practicing.
Former Conservative sanctions minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan announced the creation of the OTSI last December, saying that it would “further strengthen the U.K.’s sanctions system and allow us to maximise the impact that trade sanctions have on those who continue to flout the global rules.”
The OTSI opens Oct. 10, and, given the ongoing geopolitical uncertainty worldwide, and the increasing list of sanctions imposed, it is likely to be busy. It is one of many attempts by governments worldwide aimed at enforcing sanctions rules, which have escalated since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
THIS IS MEMBERS-ONLY CONTENT. To continue reading, choose one of the options below.
News and analysis for the well-informed compliance or audit exec. Select an option and click continue.
Annual Membership $499 Value offer
Full price one year membership with auto-renewal.
Membership $599
One-year only, no auto-renewal.
The U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority fined Starling Bank, Britain’s first digital bank, nearly 29 million pounds (U.S. $38.5 million) for repeated failures related to onboarding high-risk customers.
The Treasury Department’s Office of the Comptroller of the Currency ordered Wells Fargo to make “comprehensive corrective actions” to its Bank Secrecy Act/anti-money laundering and U.S. sanctions programs, along with receive permission from the OCC to offer new products and services or enter new geographic markets with “medium or high” ...
Enforcement actions in the first half of of 2024 by the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network highlight the importance of proactive measures in Bank Secrecy Act compliance rather than just being compliant.
The U.K. has issued 56 new sanctions against entities and individuals involved with Russia’s war effort, including several private mercenary groups operating in Africa that are connected to the Kremlin.
Five individuals and seven entities in Iran, China, and Hong Kong have been targeted for U.S. sanctions by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control for helping to obtain components used in Iran’s missles and drones.
The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned nearly 50 entities connected with so-called “shadow banking” networks that help Iran’s military evade U.S. sanctions and to sell the country’s oil and petrochemical products.
