New Sanctions on Russia and Belarus – Practical Implications for Latvian Companies

In response to Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, extensive global sanctions have been applied to the aggressor states, including sanctions from the European Union and the United States. These unprecedented sanctions raise a lot of questions on what the practical implications will be on local businesses. BritCham together with Eversheds Sutherland Bitāns and Signet Bank were delighted to welcome our members last week for a discussion on “New Sanctions on Russia and Belarus: Practical Implications on Latvian Companies”.

Māris Vainovskis, Senior Partner and Egita Peimane, Senior Associate from Eversheds Sutherland Bitāns explained what the new sanctions include, touching upon the prohibited list and dual-use list of the goods and technology. They also gave practical advice for mitigating the sanctions risk.

Roberts Idelsons, Chairman of the Management Board and Jānis Solovjakovs, Member of the Board and Head of Risk and Compliance Department from Signet Bank gave an overview of the current sanctions and their implications from the banking and financial perspective, including the impact of Russia’s recent contra sanctions. It was also emphasised, that sanctions are there to stay, most likely for years, so businesses who were recently still doing business with Russia should look at other markets and should consider Russia’s market as a closed.

During the Q&A session, questions were asked related to sanctions’ impact on private higher education in Latvia, IT, likelihood of more sanctions to come in force as well as whether Force Majeure clause is applicable in this case.

We would like to thank Eversheds Sutherland Bitāns and Signet Bank for supporting the event.

Photos from the dinner are available HERE (Photo credits: Andrejs Djadiščevs).