The financial sanctions regime prohibits trust services to Russia.

The UK regime is handled by the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI). The measures are implemented by the government to achieve specific foreign policy or national security goals.

In recent years, the regime, which is supported by many pieces of law, has undergone a number of adjustments. The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has already produced instructions for firms to ensure they understand their obligations.

The government has now adopted changes that prohibit giving trust services to people related to Russia (unless the services were supplied immediately prior to the regulations taking effect) or to a designated person. The Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) (Amendment) (No. 17) Regulations 2022 went into effect on December 16, 2022.

"Strengthening the financial sanctions regime is a crucial component of the government's reaction to war in Europe," stated Paul Philip, SRA Chief Executive. The sanctions regime applies to all firms that provide legal services, not simply those who are subject to anti-money laundering legislation. Because this is a complicated and fast-moving subject, we issued preliminary guidelines last month. Firms would benefit from signing up for OFSI notifications to stay up to date, as well as doing proper checks on clients and potential clients."

The amendment defines "trust services" as follows:

the establishment of a trust or similar arrangement

the providing of a registered office, business address, correspondence address, or administrative location for a trust or similar structure

the operation or management of a trust or similar arrangement, acting or arranging for another person to act as trustee of a trust or similar arrangement, where "trustee" refers to a person who holds an equivalent or similar position to a trustee of a trust in relation to an arrangement similar to a trust.

The term "associated with Russia" is specified in rule 19(A)2. In general, an individual is regarded to be related with Russia if they regularly live in or are located in Russia. A person other than an individual is associated with Russia if it is incorporated/constituted under Russian law or is domiciled in Russia.

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