Latest news with #HSFLondon
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
UK elite law firm fined over €500,000 for Russian sanctions breaches
Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF), a prestigious international law firm based in London, has been fined £465,000 (approximately €556,000) by the UK's Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) for breaching sanctions against Russia. The firm made payments to sanctioned Russian banks following the country's invasion of Ukraine, violating the UK's strict financial measures aimed at weakening Russia's economy and military funding. In May 2022, as HSF Moscow was winding down operations, the Russian subsidiary made six payments totalling nearly £3.93 million (€4.7 million) to three Russian banks: Alfa-Bank JSC, PJSC Sovcombank, and PJSC Sberbank. However, these banks were already subject to an asset freeze under UK sanctions, meaning that no UK-regulated entity was allowed to provide them with funds or financial resources. According to the OFSI, the payments showed compliance failings, insufficient due diligence, and inadequate sanctions screening during HSF Moscow's closure. Some payments were linked to redundancy settlements for employees with accounts at the sanctioned banks, while others covered audit services and insurance products. Related EU agrees new sanctions on Russia, targeting LNG for the first time Billions on ice: What to do with Russia's frozen central bank money? 'Our commitment to robust enforcement of UK financial sanctions is steadfast. A just and lasting peace in Ukraine must be our priority, and UK financial sanctions continue to be essential to disrupting Russia's war machine and putting Ukraine on the strongest footing possible,' Emma Reynolds, Economic Secretary to the Treasury, said in an official statement. The statement also confirmed that HSF London voluntarily reported the breaches to the OFSI, meaning a 50% reduction was applied to the fine. Companies that self-disclose sanctions violations often receive more lenient penalties, as regulators encourage transparency and cooperation. However, the OFSI's public penalty notice on HSF Moscow stressed that the fine demonstrates the body's "firm commitment to pursuing financial sanctions breaches wherever they occur', regardless of an entity's size or reputation. Following the penalty, HSF London formally requested a ministerial review. A senior Treasury official then upheld the OFSI's decision, confirming that the fine was fair, proportionate, and justified under UK sanctions laws. However, the OFSI explicitly clarified that the penalty applied only to HSF Moscow and that HSF London itself was not found to be at fault. The latter remains a key international player in advising clients on financial compliance, including sanctions.
Euronews
20-03-2025
- Business
- Euronews
UK elite law firm fined over €500,000 for Russian sanctions breaches
ADVERTISEMENT Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF), a prestigious international law firm based in London, has been fined £465,000 (approximately €556,000) by the UK's Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) for breaching sanctions against Russia. The firm made payments to sanctioned Russian banks following the country's invasion of Ukraine, violating the UK's strict financial measures aimed at weakening Russia's economy and military funding. In May 2022, as HSF Moscow was winding down operations, the Russian subsidiary made six payments totalling nearly £3.93 million (€4.7 million) to three Russian banks: Alfa-Bank JSC, PJSC Sovcombank, and PJSC Sberbank. However, these banks were already subject to an asset freeze under UK sanctions, meaning that no UK-regulated entity was allowed to provide them with funds or financial resources. According to the OFSI, the payments showed compliance failings, insufficient due diligence, and inadequate sanctions screening during HSF Moscow's closure. Some payments were linked to redundancy settlements for employees with accounts at the sanctioned banks, while others covered audit services and insurance products. Related EU agrees new sanctions on Russia, targeting LNG for the first time Billions on ice: What to do with Russia's frozen central bank money? 'Our commitment to robust enforcement of UK financial sanctions is steadfast. A just and lasting peace in Ukraine must be our priority, and UK financial sanctions continue to be essential to disrupting Russia's war machine and putting Ukraine on the strongest footing possible,' Emma Reynolds, Economic Secretary to the Treasury, said in an official statement. The statement also confirmed that HSF London voluntarily reported the breaches to the OFSI, meaning a 50% reduction was applied to the fine. Companies that self-disclose sanctions violations often receive more lenient penalties, as regulators encourage transparency and cooperation. However, the OFSI's public penalty notice on HSF Moscow stressed that the fine demonstrates the body's "firm commitment to pursuing financial sanctions breaches wherever they occur', regardless of an entity's size or reputation. Following the penalty, HSF London formally requested a ministerial review. A senior Treasury official then upheld the OFSI's decision, confirming that the fine was fair, proportionate, and justified under UK sanctions laws. However, the OFSI explicitly clarified that the penalty applied only to HSF Moscow and that HSF London itself was not found to be at fault. The latter remains a key international player in advising clients on financial compliance, including sanctions.
The Guardian
20-03-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Elite London law firm fined £465,000 for Russian sanctions breaches
Herbert Smith Freehills, the elite global law firm based in London, has been fined by the British government after its former Moscow office made millions of pounds in payments to sanctioned Russian banks. The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI), said it had imposed a penalty of £465,000 on HSF Moscow, which was a subsidiary of HSF London until its closure in 2022 after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The fine, which was upheld after Herbert Smith requested a ministerial review, relates to six payments worth a combined £3.9m, made by HSF Moscow to Alfa-Bank JSC, PJSC Sovcombank, and PJSC Sberbank. The trio of banks are all subject to an asset freeze under Britain's sanctions on Russia after the invasion of Ukraine, the UK government said. Herbert Smith Freehills, which has 2,400 lawyers in 24 offices around the world, blamed the payments on human error during the final week of its efforts to shut down its Moscow operations in response to the war. The payments do not relate to the company's clients or client work, or to any of their offices other than its former office in Moscow, the law firm said in a statement. 'We were disappointed by the fine that has been imposed. Nonetheless, we are pleased that this matter has now been resolved,' said Herbert Smith, whose work includes advising clients on sanctions compliance. OFSI, a division of the Treasury, said the payments, spread over a period of seven days as the company wound down its Russian offices, were caused by a 'pattern of failings'. It blamed inadequate due diligence and sanctions screening, amid the 'hasty closure' of HSF Moscow. Some of the payments related to redundancy settlements for staff with Sberbank accounts, while others related to fees for audit services and insurance products. HSF London voluntarily disclosed the breaches to OFSI, resulting in a 50% reduction to the final penalty amount. HSF London agreed to pay the sum on HSF Moscow's behalf. Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning after newsletter promotion OFSI also disclosed that HSF London had sought a ministerial review of the fine, initially imposed in November 2024. A senior Treasury official upheld OFSI's initial decision. Emma Reynolds, economic secretary to the Treasury, said: 'Our commitment to robust enforcement of UK financial sanctions is steadfast. 'A just and lasting peace in Ukraine must be our priority, and UK financial sanctions continue to be essential to disrupting Russia's war machine and putting Ukraine on the strongest footing possible.'
