UK Fines Former Russian Subsidiary of UK Law Firm for Sanctions Violations
The U.K.'s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation fined the Russian subsidiary of British law firm Herbert Smith Freehills about $600,000 for violating U.K. sanctions on Russia. The firm was penalized for six payments it made worth over $5 million to sanctioned Russian banks Alfa-Bank JSC, PJSC Sovcombank and PJSC Sberbank.
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The U.K. said the payments were made over a seven-day period as the firm "wound down its Russian offices," OFSI said, calling the payments a "demonstrated a pattern of failings. Herbert Smith Freehills closed its Russian office after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The subsidiary voluntarily disclosed the payments, leading to a 50% reduction in the penalty, OFSI said. The agency emphasized that the penalty was assessed on Herbert Smith Freehills Moscow and not Herbert Smith Freehills London.