Morgan Lewis US and Russia Sanctions Update
Russia's Countersanctions (cont'd)
• Foreign blocking statutes (such as Russia is in process of developing /
implementing) and US law practice:
What would be OFAC's (or a US court's) reaction, if Russia's blocking legislation is
enacted in some form, and a company (US, European, Russian, etc.) acts in a way
that violates a US sanction (e.g., deals with an SDN individual or entity) on account of
the new Russian-law mandate not to reject such dealings?
This is a complex subject in itself, which can't be quickly summarized; suffice it to say
here that
OFAC might take such claimed foreign-law mandate into account as one mitigating factor in
an enforcement proceeding, but will not be controlled by it
the leading US court decision in the United States v. Brodie case on this subject to date -
essentially rejected such a defense raised by a US company (involving in part an earlier
version of the EU Blocking Statute - see also slide 58)
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Morgan Lewis
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