Practices

International Sanctions & Compliance

Our expertise:

We advise on all aspects of EU sanctions including risk assessment, compliance, contract preparation, enforcement and dispute resolution. We have extensive expertise in advising and representing clients on domestic and cross-border EU-sanctions issues, including managing strategy and co-ordinating engagement with multiple regulators and the EU Commission, including for the purposes of seeking derogations. Our team are well-equipped to advise on the interaction of often conflicting and complementary sanctions regimes in this dynamic legal and political landscape. In the context of dispute resolution, we have acted on complex sanctions cross-border disputes as both lead and co-counsel with partner law firms in France, Romania, Germany, Latvia, Belgium, the UK and the US. We also regularly assist clients in ensuring sanctions obligations are appropriately set out in contracts, conduct risk assessments and advise clients on export control issues as part of corporate due diligence.  

• Advising on the EU sanctions regimes in domestic and cross-border settings, across a variety of sectors
• Advising on compliance, due diligence, anti-circumvention obligations and conducting risk-analysis
• Advising companies on the risk of breach and circumvention of sanctions rules and applicable EU and domestic penalties, including criminal sanctions and white-collar crime issues
• Supporting clients in assessing their reporting obligations and engagement with regulators
• Assisting clients in applying to Irish competent authorities for licences or derogations from sanctions
• Assisting clients in navigating their obligations and managing risk across conflicting sanctions regimes such as the UK and US, benefitting from key relationships with partner firms across the EU, UK and US
• Acting as co-counsel in arbitrations involving sanctions disputes, including under the rules of the SCC (Sweden), Swiss Arbitration Centre and LCIA (London and Germany)

Key highlights include corporate clients across the agriculture, biotech, pharma, manufacturing, financial, funds, technology and aviation industries. Our experience includes advising:

• Multi-national companies on the application of EU-Iran sanctions, including liaising with US experts on potential conflicting US sanctions, related OFAC enforcement and application of the EU Blocking Statute
• Insurance multi-national companies on the application of EU-Iran sanctions, including the assessment of ‘red flags’ and due diligence requirements
• Multinational companies on reporting requirements under the EU-Iran sanctions, including EU anti-circumvention rules, potential liability and penalties under Irish law
• An Irish service provider in relation to an EU-Russia sanctions derogation application to the Department of Enterprise Trade and Employment with respect to critical energy infrastructure
• Irish PLCs in international arbitration proceedings concerning payments due under multi-million euro contracts, including ongoing advice on asset freeze measures, due diligence obligations, the scope of derogations and ‘safe harbour’ defences and applicable penalties under Irish law in relation to the EU – Russia sanctions. We also act as lead or co-counsel coordinating regulatory engagement across multiple jurisdictions
• A multi-national company on the interpretation and application of EU-Russian sanctions prohibiting the provision of certain technology services, and assessment of impact on its supply chain
• Entities in the funds industry in relation to their reporting obligations to national competent authorities, specifically under EU-Russian sanctions
• Irish entities on the scope of the EU–Russia and EU-Belarus sanctions prohibition against the provision of maintenance and ancillary services to Russia and Belarus / for use in Russia and Belarus in the aviation sector
• On the application of the “no re-export to Russia clause” within the EU-Russia and EU-Belarus sanctions regimes
• On a compliance review of sanctions and export control policies as part of corporate transaction due diligence review