Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to work on a project exploring the financial dimension of international crimes, i.e. war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and the crime of aggression. The project’s premise was that international crimes are big business, and generate a significant financial footprint, yet their financial disruption — and prosecution ofContinue reading “Economic Complicity in International Crimes: Principles and High-Level Roadmap”
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Lord Leggatt’s Lament: Why the Dissent in Shvidler is Wrong
Eugene Shvidler is a British multi-billionaire of Russian origin. He is a friend of Roman Abramovich, formerly of Chelsea Football Club’s fame, and until March 2022 used to sit on the board of Evraz, a UK-listed company with subsidiaries all over the world, including Russia. Despite being a British citizen, Shvidler is now sanctioned byContinue reading “Lord Leggatt’s Lament: Why the Dissent in Shvidler is Wrong”
Will the Ukraine Special Tribunal Confiscate ‘Proceeds of Aggression’?
On 25 June, Ukraine and the Council of Europe signed an agreement establishing a Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine. Forming part of the agreement is the Statute that sets out the Special Tribunal’s powers, composition and key procedures. In light of the enormous damage that Russia’s aggression against Ukraine causes onContinue reading “Will the Ukraine Special Tribunal Confiscate ‘Proceeds of Aggression’?”
Russia (Non) Sanctions Matrix
There are multiple databases or ‘trackers’ of Russia sanctions. They are important for compliance purposes and assessing the effect of sanctions. What is lacking is an accessible summary of sanctions that could be, but have not been, imposed on Russia. Such a resource could be a repository of ideas for Western governments to draw upon,Continue reading “Russia (Non) Sanctions Matrix”
Frozen Russian State Assets
The Key to Enforcing the Largest Financial Debt of Our Times? This post was first published on Verfassungsblog and is re-published with its kind permission. In February 2022, a coalition of states including all G7 economies froze approximately US$300 billion in Russian state assets. Those consist of foreign currency reserves accumulated by the Central BankContinue reading “Frozen Russian State Assets”
The Weird World of Receiving Payments from Sanctioned Persons in Australia
Two recent situations have prompted me to consider an issue I never focused on before: namely, the legality of receiving payments from — rather than making payments to — sanctioned persons in Australia. It has turned out to be a surprisingly interesting question. The first of the two situations involves the decision of the AustralianContinue reading “The Weird World of Receiving Payments from Sanctioned Persons in Australia”
US Tornado Cash Judgment: Baffling, and No One Knows What It Means
The extravaganza of extraordinary sanctions judgments continues. Last time, I considered the Federal Court’s unusually bold interpretation of Australian sanctions laws in the case involving a company partly owned by two sanctioned Russian oligarchs. Then, two weeks ago, the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit struck down US sanctions against Tornado Cash, aContinue reading “US Tornado Cash Judgment: Baffling, and No One Knows What It Means”
An Extraordinary Sanctions Judgment from Australia
There has been a great deal of anxiety across the ‘collective West’ about Russian sanctions evasion. Insofar as trade is concerned, the mechanics are very simple. Goods are first exported to a neighbouring country and then moved on to their ultimate destination in Moscow, Saint Petersburg or elsewhere. Hence plenty of charts about the spectacularContinue reading “An Extraordinary Sanctions Judgment from Australia”
More Joint Cybercrime Sanctions — And a ‘Two-Tier’ Ransomware Universe
Following on from the Australian, UK and US joint sanctions designations of Russian cybercriminals in January 2023 (in connection with the Medibank hack) and May 2024 (targeting a member of the LockBit ransomware outfit), these three countries struck out with joint cybercrime sanctions again. On 2 October, they designated three Russian nationals allegedly involved inContinue reading “More Joint Cybercrime Sanctions — And a ‘Two-Tier’ Ransomware Universe”
The English High Court Rules on Sanctions Again: Some Thoughts on the Shvidler Decision
We are starting to see a trickle of sanctions judgments from the UK. This year, the High Court has already dismissed challenges to UK sanctions brought by a Belarussian technology company; a Russian businessman seeking the release of his yacht; and now – in a judgment published last week – a dual UK/US national, EugeneContinue reading “The English High Court Rules on Sanctions Again: Some Thoughts on the Shvidler Decision”
Economic Crime Law 