Crisis Management, Economic sanctions and Compliance

Our team advises Russian and foreign clients across all industries on the most significant and sensitive Russian sanctions, as well as their impact and effect in light of sanctions from the US and EU. We position ourselves as a business-oriented firm that provides our clients with superb and efficient legal advice that enables them to achieve their business objectives.

As a full services independent law firm, we are uniquely positioned to assist our clients in responding to the most sensitive and significant inquiries from regulators and dive deep into our clients’ business (with a full understanding of our clients’ business model and the most essential areas of their commercial activities) to provide them with only the most relevant and practical legal advice. Our practice also encompasses regulatory advice, compliance counseling and other various due diligence issues. In addition, we represent clients in the commercial disputes related to the impact of sanctions on business matters and advises clients on possible ways to resolve sanctions disputes.

In collaboration with our Best Friends network, which includes top-tier law firms all over the world, including major jurisdictions of the US, all EU members and all APAC countries, we are capable of providing our clients with the most thorough and extensive legal advice and cover regulations in key jurisdictions.

Areas of expertise:

• A targeted analysis of the impact of economic sanctions and permanent monitoring of current developments. This is a purely unique service that we provide to our clients, which enables them to navigate the various economic sanctions and updates to restrictions and to receive only the most relevant and important updates that impact their business. Instead of general and sometimes irrelevant updates, we provide our clients with targeted, practical legal advice and proposals.

• Withdrawing from and restructuring Russian assets. Our team has unique expertise in assisting clients with urgently withdrawing from Russian assets or restructuring ownership in Russian assets to comply with the economic sanctions. With our assessment of practical risks and various practices available at our firm, we are committed to providing our clients with legal advice, while prioritizing quality, efficiency and speed.

• Applying for permits under the new counter-sanctions FDI regime. We have unique experience in the new FDI regime, which has been established as part of Russian counter-sanctions measures. We help our clients understand what actions require a permit to be granted under the new procedure (e.g. repayments of loans, transactions with shares and real estate) as well as apply for a permit in the most efficient way.

• Sanctions Screening and Due Diligence. Our experienced team is ready to assist our Clients with various sanctions screening and due diligence, using our unique internally created sanctions due diligence tool, as well as major sanctions screening due diligence checks services. Our expertise and Russian presence allow us to complete various checks and enquiries with respect to Russian parties to make sure our foreign clients have done all actions necessary to verify their counterparty’s identity and its compliance with foreign sanctions. Our international approach allows us to engage the most qualified sanctions experts in a various jurisdictions and deliver to our Clients the most comprehensive analysis.

• Sanctions disputes. Currently, sanctions have a significant impact not only on the fulfillment of obligations, but also on the dispute resolution procedure itself, including the enforceability of arbitration and jurisdiction agreements and the determination of the competent forum. In this connection, the impact of the sanctions should be taken into account from the very beginning, even when structuring the relations of the parties. Our team has significant experience in advising clients on the best way to resolve disputes with sanction element in each specific situation taking into account the novelties of the Russian procedural legislation, which by default establish the exclusive jurisdiction of Russian courts in relation to sanctions disputes. Also, we have profound experience in representing clients in disputes related to the impact of both foreign and Russian sanctions and countersanctions including application of anti-suit injunctions.

• Developing internal policies for compliance with various economic sanctions, and assisting clients with sanctions compliance issues and contract-related disputes.

• Regulatory insight. We have an unparalleled understanding of the legal and policy underpinnings of Russian counter-sanctions and AML/CFT regulations as well as the impact of foreign sanctions on the operations of our clients in Russia. Our team has significant experience communicating with the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, the Federal Financial Monitoring Office, the Federal Tax Office and the Federal Antimonopoly Service and representing our clients before these agencies. We have strong insight into the background and factors that motivate these agencies’ enforcement and other regulatory decisions. Our experience enables us to assist clients with anticipating emerging regulatory and enforcement trends.

• Regulatory advice and compliance counseling. Our primary goal is to assist our clients in complying with regulatory requirements while avoiding unnecessary complications. Our team has advised numerous foreign and Russian clients on a broad range of sanctions and AML/CTF matters, including complicated issues regarding particular transactions and managing or restructuring existing business relations. We recently helped our clients with navigate the changing legal environment due to the foreign sanctions imposed on Russia as well as the Russian counter-sanctions, including restrictions on loans and currency exchange. We also have experience developing and updating compliance policies and implementing risk management plans. Our team has successful experience obtaining approvals from the Government Commission for Control over Foreign Investments as well.

• Termination or suspension of contractual obligations with Russian business partners. Our clients (including their Russia-based affiliates and branches) have faced situations where they urgently need to suspend or terminate their business relations with Russian companies due to sanctions and restrictions imposed by the governments of the United States, United Kingdom, European Union and other countries. Our team has the experience needed to advise Russian and international clients on what options are available for suspending/terminating contractual relations with their partners in light of the current geopolitical situation with due consideration given to the specifics of law enforcement practices in Russia.

• Human resource crisis management. We provide our clients with comprehensive support on all issues related to human resource crisis management. The extent of our experience and expertise allows us to promptly and proactively help our clients from completely different industries, from preparing communications to implementing the most out-of-box solutions in human resources. Given our experience in building cross-border labor relations, we help our clients deal with relocation, remote work and international team management. We provide support in suspending and terminating employment relations, defend clients in court and defend them before the state authorities in the most difficult situations.

• Advice on the scope and application of foreign and Russian sanctions as well as on export control and embargo issues. We help our clients to navigate through ever-changing economic sanctions and restrictions, analyse and adjust their businesses considering the existing trade restrictions (embargo and export control) applicable to their products both from Russian and from other countries’ perspectives.

• Assistance in obtaining licenses/permits from foreign regulators as well as in unfreezing of assets. Our team is ready to help with preparation of a package of documents and interaction with the US, EU and UK sanctions authorities in order to obtain licenses for transactions/operations and to unfreeze assets.

• Due diligence of counterparties and transactions with respect to sanctions risks and analysis of influence of sanctions on contractual obligations. Our specialists are ready to conduct due diligence for counterparties on Russian and foreign sanctions lists and comprehensive compliance checks using our unique due diligence methods and mechanisms. Moreover, we help with the analysis of the existing contractual obligations of the parties, development of an optimal strategy, as well as negotiations thereof with counterparties.

• Assistance with lifting EU, US and UK sanctions and representation in sanction disputes. Our team helps to analyse the initial reasons for imposing sanctions against a client, develops arguments and steps to delisting, and also provides support in interaction with foreign regulators during the sanctions relief procedure. Our team has significant experience in advising clients on the best way to resolve disputes that are complicated by the sanctions component.