On 28 February 2024, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced that ‘it is time to start a conversation about using the windfall profits of frozen Russian assets to jointly purchase military equipment for Ukraine’. This statement comes on the heels of a decision adopted by the Council of the European Union (EU) on 12 February 2024, which was hailed as the ‘first step to use Russia’s frozen assets for Ukraine’. According to this decision, Central Securities Depositories (CSDs) holding more than EUR 1 million in assets and reserves of the Central Bank of Russia ..read more

The past several weeks have seen a new-ish development in the ongoing saga concerning the fate of the Central Bank of Russia’s (CBR) frozen foreign currency reserves. According to the Financial Times, the G7’s discussions have shifted towards issuing bonds backed by CBR assets for Ukraine’s benefit. Two unnamed officials cited by the FT described the proposal, put forward by the Belgian government, as ‘a leading option to unlock the frozen funds for Ukraine’. One of the FT’s interlocutors was open about the rationale behind the proposal: One of the things that this would do is put off the que ..read more

For years now, the US has lobbied with the Dutch government to institute controls on the export to China of chipmaking machines produced by ASML, Europe’s most valuable tech company. In 2019, Washington effectively pushed the Netherlands to prevent the export of one of ASML’s most advanced “Extreme Ultraviolet” (EUV) lithography machines to China. And in January 2023, the US succeeded in forging a deal with Japan and the Netherlands to institute further export controls on semiconductor manufacturing equipment. Yet for the Biden administration, the Dutch controls did not go far enough. Therefo ..read more

A dangerous proposal is on the table as sanctioning authorities grasp for answers on how to improve enforcement of the Russian oil price cap. The coalition-driven cap aims to accomplish two apparently paradoxical purposes: limit Russia’s ability to generate oil-based revenue used to fund its war effort and maintain the global supply of energy. Rather than banning the facilitation of Russian oil exports altogether, the G7, the EU, Norway, and Australia, adopted a scheme to set Russian-origin oil moved in maritime transport at an artificially low price. The coalition attempts to execute this pr ..read more

Scenario and Problems The conflict between Russia and Ukraine continued to elicit international reactions from States beyond the pair at the epicentre of concern. Just a few months ago, the Secretary of State of the United States issued a press statement, announcing sanctions on USM Holdings owned by the Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov and his other companies, in cooperation with the UK. The actions involve blocking all property and interests in property of the designated companies. USM Holdings criticised the financial measures for being ‘unfair and unreasonable’, citing Usmanov’s holdings ..read more

On 18 October 2022, the U.S. Department of Justice agreed to a historic plea deal in the Lafarge proceedings, marking a significant development in the field of corporate accountability and terrorism. In the first ever U.S. prosecution of its kind, the Lafarge corporation (at the time one of the two largest construction companies in the world) and its subsidiary, Lafarge Cement Syria (‘LCS’), were sentenced to $778 million in financial penalties for providing material support to terrorist organizations (‘the Lafarge Settlement’). This post reviews the fine and asset forfeiture compon ..read more

Introduction As the Russian Federation’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine continues into its second year, Ukraine’s reconstruction and recovery is estimated by the World Bank to cost, at a minimum, $411 billion. With no realistic prospect of a negotiated settlement to the conflict in sight, Ukraine and its international partners are rightfully seeking pathways to fund the rebuilding of Ukrainian infrastructure and the compensation of millions of Ukrainians that have suffered during the conflict, among other priorities. Particular attention has been paid to the possibility of seizing the assets ..read more

Introduction As of 21 July 2022, the European Union (EU) has adopted seven rounds of restrictive measures (commonly referred to as ‘sanctions’) against the Russian Federation following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The latest two rounds (adopted on 3 June and 21 July 2022, respectively) – in addition to containing measures aimed at harming Russia’s economy – target certain Russian military officers with asset freezes and EU entry bans. Notably, those listed on 3 June were described by the European Commission’s President Ursula von der Leyen as ‘high-ranking military off ..read more

Much has been written and reported in the past 100 days since the Russian Federation invaded Ukraine, regarding all manner of mass atrocity crimes, continuing egregious human rights violations, war crimes and grave breaches of the 1949 Geneva Conventions and other sources of international humanitarian law.  In February, I wrote about international law duties not to recognize the unabashedly admitted illegal acts of aggression, violation of the use of force, and outright annexation being committed by the Russian Federation against Ukraine.  A laudable proposal for an International Cl ..read more

Private Supplements to Public Regulation Commercial actors around the world are reacting to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine by voluntarily reducing their exposure to Russia-connected trades. Although the economic sanctions imposed by the EU, UK, US, Japan, and other major powers have been rapid and sweeping, the deliberate choice by the business community to willingly de-couple from Russia-linked transactions has further amplified the force of the collective response. As sanctioning authorities bar a range of private sector activities with a Russia nexus, commercial entities have mobilized to wi ..read more