EU Adds New Russia Sanctions FAQ on Making Funds Available

The European Commission this month added a new frequently asked question covering the "Asset Freeze and Prohibition to Make Funds and Economic Resources Available" to its Russia sanctions FAQs. The entry asks whether a non-sanctioned entity can request permission to use derogations on trade in fertilizers if it does not consider itself to be owned by a sanctioned party, but its counterparts do. "Would that amount to an acknowledgement of ownership and/or control by the sanctioned person over the company?” the FAQ asks.

The commission said that provided that a company fulfills the criteria described in the regulation to request an authorization, its directors' subjective position regarding the ownership of the company does not prevent it from applying for an authorization. "The Regulation does not draw any conclusions from such an application as to whether the company is indeed owned and/or controlled by the sanctioned individual.”