Sanction services
Sanctions affect everyone
Sanctions refer to the partial restriction or complete suspension of economic or commercial cooperation with a specific state or group. The aim of sanctions is to influence the politics or other actions of the targeted state or group. Sanctions are imposed by various international communities. All companies must comply with sanctions, prevent their circumvention, and comply with national decisions on freezing assets.
The range of sanctions includes, in addition to sanctions on individuals and entities, import and export restrictions on goods and services, financial sanctions, and travel restrictions (so-called sectoral sanctions). In international trade, it is important to understand whether the company’s products are allowed to be exported to the destination country. The trading party must also investigate where the products may be further distributed. Even the indirect supply of products to a sanctioned country through a third country is prohibited. Similarly, it is important to note that business transactions with individuals or entities who are being sanctioned are prohibited. This applies even to products that are not subject to an export ban.
Responsibility of the company
Companies have the primary responsibility to ensure that their business activities do not result in the violation of sanctions. A company must be proactive and diligent in investigating the content of the current sanctions and documenting the findings.
We have advised clients operating in various industries on issues related to compliance with sanctions and national decisions on freezing assets. This advice has often also covered questions related to sanctions monitoring, sectoral sanctions, dual-use goods, and asset freezes.
Applicable list of sanctions
The list of sanctions that Finnish companies must comply with may vary slightly depending on factors such as business connections and financial or other agreements. All Finnish companies must comply with the regulations on sanctions issued by the EU Council (EU sanctions). These are directly applicable in all member states. Additionally, the EU implements sanctions imposed by the United Nations (UN) Security Council through EU-level legislation. In practice, many also comply with sanctions imposed by the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States’ Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), even if there is no legal obligation to do so. This is often due to the desire to avoid reputational risks. If the company’s business is linked to the United States, compliance with OFAC sanctions may also be mandatory.
Our services
- Advice on issues related to sanctions regulation
- Assistance in identifying the lists of sanctions that apply to your operations
- Assistance in preparation of a risk assessment and operational principles related to compliance with sanctions and national decisions on freezing assets, as well as the prevention of circumvention of sanctions, and in the necessary processes
- Assistance with questions related to sanctions monitoring and asset freezes
- Trainings (in-person, webinars, e-learning)
- Assistance in drafting contract terms related to compliance with sanctions and preventing their circumvention
We offer our services in Finnish, Swedish, and English.
Our experts are happy to assist with any issues related to sanctions.
Our team
Katariina Pesonen, Emilia Lostedt, Hanna Huttunen, Mikko Koskinen, Jesse Kinnaslampi, Lotta Koskela and Rebecca Rafkin
