Do all companies need to comply with international sanctions?

As of 2016, the execution of national and international sanctions in Latvia is governed by the Law on International Sanctions and National Sanctions of the Republic of Latvia (the Law). It instructs accountants, lawyers, consumer lenders and other companies to implement internal controls for execution of sanctions. However, according to the most recent amendments, the law must be respected by everyone!

In the spring of 2018, Oleg attended a dance festival in Georgia. Police arrived to the first festival party and detained him for extradition to the United States (USA) for conspiracy against the USA, smuggling of goods, and violation of  the ban on the export of  arms to Russia. He spent several months in Georgian and American prisons because he had purchased a user’s manual for the American F-16 fighter aircraft on eBay. The Russian citizen Oleg Tishchenko claimed to have added the manual to his collection because he draws airplane cabins for combat flight simulation video games.

In its legal nature, Oleg’s crime is a violation of the US embargo on the sale of arms to Russia. Criminal proceedings against Oleg and the seller of the instruction manual were started because a user’s manual of military equipment– the F-16 fighter aircraft – had been disclosed to Russia. The USA regularly imposes such embargoes on F-16 and related goods and information with respect to Pakistan, Indonesia, and other countries. As soon as the case file was complete, Oleg’s arrest warrant was published on the Interpol network.

Can this happen to anyone?

Read full Article HERE

by Private: Katrīne Pļaviņa, Senior Associate, Latvia

Team

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