In coordination with the United States, EU, and other allies, Canada, Australia, Japan, and South Korea have announced a series of additional sanctions on Russia. Companies with operations in these jurisdictions should carefully review these measures and more broadly monitor sanctions developments in all of the jurisdictions in which they operate.
Canada
Yesterday, Canada implemented new measures restricting dealings with Russia. Canada issued regulations providing for the following:
- Asset Freeze & Dealings Prohibition. Persons subject to the Canada regulation are broadly prohibited from dealing in the property of such designated individuals or entities, facilitating such dealings, or otherwise conferring certain economic benefits to such individuals and entities. In addition to various Russian individuals, the asset freeze applies to a series of significant Russian companies and financial institutions, going beyond current blocking measures employed by the United States.
- Sector Restrictions (e.g., securities, energy). With some exception, dealing in new debt of varying lengths of maturity and in securities of designated individuals or entities are prohibited. The export, sale, supply, or shipping of specified goods to Russia or Russian persons for use in offshore, shale oil, or Arctic oil exploration and production are similarly prohibited. Included in the prohibition is a ban on the provision of financial, technical, or other services related to the specified goods.
Similar to the United States, exceptions to Canada’s asset freeze and dealings prohibition include certain payments made pursuant to contracts entered into before the new regulations went into force, as well as transactions by international organizations. Justice Canada published a consolidated version of the new measures, but the latest additions to Canada’s listings can be found here and here.
Australia
So far, Australia has announced financial sanctions on an additional 25 persons and four entities, as well as restrictions preventing Australians from investing in four designated Russian financial institutions. These measures expand previously announced financial restrictions on Russian officials and Russian banks.
Restrictions on investments may include directly or indirectly purchasing, selling, or otherwise dealing with bonds, equity, transferable securities, money market instruments or other similar financial instruments issued by specified entities.
Based on an exposure draft of Australian legislation, and earlier announcements, Australia so far has indicated that it will sanction the following Russian financial institutions and entities:
- Rossiya Bank
- Promsvyazbank
- IS Bank
- Genbank
- The Black Sea Bank for Development and Reconstruction
- Cetelem Bank
- Russian Agency for Export Credit and Investment
- Otkritie Bank
- Russian Direct Investment Fund
Japan
Yesterday, Japan announced that it will:
- Ban imports from and exports to the so-called “Donetsk People’s Republic” and the “Ruhansk People’s Republic”;
- Freeze assets in Japan held by persons from those contested territories;
- Suspend travel visas by such persons; and
- Prohibit the issuance of and transactions dealing in new Russian sovereign debt in the primary and secondary markets.
Today, Japan announced that it will take the following additional measures:
- Sanction the export of controlled and other dual-use goods, such as semiconductors, to Russian military-related entities;
- Freeze assets in Japan held by designated Russian individuals and entities
- Suspend travel visas by such individuals and entities; and
- Freeze assets in Japan held by VEB.RF, Promsvyazbank, and Bank Rossiya
South Korea
South Korea announced that it would join multilateral sanctions, although details have not yet been released.
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