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Export controls, sanctions and anti-money laundering

Export controls and sanctions are extremely complex. The consequences of non-compliance in this continuously changing area of the law can prove costly to your business. Breaches of relevant regulations come with the risk of substantial fines, loss of reputation, contractual penalties and logistical difficulties. Individuals can also face significant penalties, including criminal liability. Fortunately, Eversheds Sutherland is on hand to help your business chart its way through this challenging legal area.

Global export control advice

Our competition, EU and trade group is a one-stop-shop for advice on a wide range of import and export matters. We assist with compliance advice and audits, as well as disclosures of instances of non-compliance to national authorities. We provide training and tailor compliance policies and programs to mitigate the risk of non-compliance with applicable laws. We offer full and comprehensive coverage in all major jurisdictions, particularly in Europe and the US.

Our lawyers ‘extensive experience on trade issues includes providing counsel on the sanctions programs administered by the US, the EU and its member states and the United Nations, anti-money laundering requirements, anti-boycott laws, anti-bribery statutes, short supply controls and other export restrictions.

Our global experience covers a variety of territories – including those of Brazil, Singapore, Japan, China and Hong Kong – and encompasses a wide range of products.

Export and import advice

We regularly counsel on customs classification, valuation and other aspects of customs duty laws and procedures, including such trade issues as rules of origin and anti-dumping and countervailing duty measures.

Our team routinely deals with large-scale projects involving multiple jurisdictions, as well as countless day-to-day compliance activities. We can also help your business to manage its operational risk on a global level.

We assist with technology-transfer regimes, helping them to obtain export licenses and structure technical assistance agreements and make other arrangements for both military and dual-use items and technologies. In the US, we have deep experience with a full range of industrial security and technology-transfer structures.

International investigations and voluntary disclosures

Our lawyers can conduct confidential internal investigations on behalf of your business. In addition to this, we will assist in the preparation and submission of voluntary disclosures to national enforcement authorities such as the US Departments of State and Commerce and the UK Export Control Organisation, with respect to violations of export controls, sanctions and other regulatory areas. Our experience includes negotiating consent decrees with such regulatory bodies to resolve violations, as well as addressing ancillary consequences including license suspension/revocation, debarments from government contracting and exporting. We have worked with a broad range of industries to resolve complex issues arising from potential export control and sanction violations.

Global export control compliance programs and training

Eversheds Sutherland’s lawyers have designed and implemented customized global export control compliance programs, using a suite of different tools, including multi-jurisdictional audits, online and face-to-face training policies and guidance notes, hotlines and critical reviews of internal processes. We have a holistic approach to compliance and help to design programs that cover a full range of international business practice requirements, including anti-money laundering, sanctions, anti-bribery, anti-boycott and export control requirements. We offer an innovative online export control compliance training tool which we can customize to suit your specific needs.

Advice and solutions tailored to your business

We recognize that not all businesses have the same requirements and build our team around your needs. We draw on the experience of team members who have served in government and advised governments on these very issues. We can provide a single point of contact for global compliance and dispute resolution, ensure consistency of approach and connect you with individuals operating in the business on an international level, so that you can approach them directly on specific issues. We also understand that particular situations may require sensitive or classified issues to be disclosed only to nationals within the same country.

Experienced export control lawyers

We regularly advise on export issues affecting a range of sectors including IT, telecommunications, aerospace and defense, electronics engineering, chemical, oil and gas and pharmaceuticals. Examples of our recent experience include advising:

  • global commodity trading firms on the application of U.S. sanctions to their international operations.
  • a global leader in fuel logistics in respect of both UN and EU sanctions.
  • leading energy companies on the sanctions regimes against Iraq, Sudan and Libya.
  • China National Nuclear Corporation on EU/UK export controls in respect of investment in Hinkley Point C nuclear power station.
  • major multinationals on potentially unlawful export activities.
  • advising on and crafting voluntary disclosures to U.S. and UK authorities with respect to potential violations of applicable export control laws.
  • license applications to the U.S. Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to authorize activities otherwise subject to U.S. sanctions.

Contact our export control and sanctions team

If you would like any further information or need advice on export controls and sanctions, please contact our legal team.

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© Eversheds Sutherland 2023. All rights reserved. Eversheds Sutherland is a global provider of legal and other services operating through various separate and distinct legal entities.

Eversheds Sutherland is the name and brand under which the members of Eversheds Sutherland Limited (Eversheds Sutherland (International) LLP and Eversheds Sutherland (US) LLP) and their respective controlled, managed and affiliated firms and the members of Eversheds Sutherland (Europe) Limited (each an "Eversheds Sutherland Entity" and together the "Eversheds Sutherland Entities") provide legal or other services to clients around the world. Eversheds Sutherland Entities are constituted and regulated in accordance with relevant local regulatory and legal requirements and operate in accordance with their locally registered names. The use of the name Eversheds Sutherland, is for description purposes only and does not imply that the Eversheds Sutherland Entities are in a partnership or are part of a global LLP. The responsibility for the provision of services to the client is defined in the terms of engagement between the instructed firm and the client.