Sanctions

What are sanctions?

The principal purpose of sanctions in most cases is to change the behaviour of the target country’s regimes, individuals or groups. They are also used to apply pressure on a target country to comply with certain objectives, and enforce measures where diplomatic efforts have failed.

There are different sanctions regimes which affect UK businesses. Usually they are grouped into trade and financial sanctions:

1. •

   trade sanctions (also known as embargoes) restrict trade and business with certain countries and impose either a prohibition or a licensing requirement on the sale, supply, transfer, export or import of specified items to or from a specified country and include economic travel bans, or financial or diplomatic restrictions, and

2. •

   financial sanctions are measures which restrict dealings in money and the provision of financial services and include the prohibition of funds transfers to certain countries, individuals or entities

For further information, see:

1. •

   Sanctions regime—Russia — this Practice Note provides an introduction to the UK sanctions regime against Russia under