The focus on sanctions and sanctions compliance that began in February 2022 with the Russian invasion of Ukraine is unlike anything we have ever seen before.  Many lessons were learned by the financial services industry as it grappled to comply with the onslaught of sanctions being issued by authorities across the globe. And, although the pace and volume of new Russian sanctions have now eased, lessons continue to be learned as regulators have shifted from being observers to being enforcers.

In this session, we will discuss the evolution of the Russian sanctions and the current state of play, including significant targets of the sanctions as well as the continuing efforts to improve coordination among the major issuing jurisdictions. We will share the lessons learned by the financial services industry in the early stage of implementation, including the impact on the AML program, and how these have led or are leading to changes in sanctions compliance programs. We will also address some of the unique challenges faced by financial institutions active in the capital markets, asset management and trade finance. We will talk about sanction evasion methodologies and what regulators expect financial institutions to be doing to identify evasion.  Finally, we will crystal ball what may happen next – not just with Russia, but also with China.

The presentation will include a Q & A session.