U.S. and UK Impose New Sanctions on Belarus
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Key takeaways:
- On 9 August 2021, the United States and the United Kingdom escalated their sanctions regimes against Belarus.
- The United States designated 44 Belarus-related entities and individuals and expanded sanctions authorities in relation to persons operating in certain sectors of the Belarus economy, engaged in certain Belarus-related activities or related to the Belarus government.
- The United Kingdom implemented additional sanctions which mirror the extensive sanctions imposed by the European Union on 24 June 2021. These include an asset freeze on prominent Russian businessman Mikhail Gutseriev; restrictions on Belarus’ petroleum, potash and tobacco industries; and capital market restrictions on the Belarus government and Belarus state-owned financial institutions.
- Businesses should ensure that they understand these new restrictions and have systems in place to identify the companies and persons affected.