Strengthening European Financial Sector Capabilities to Mitigate Complex Russia and Belarus-related Sanctions Risks
CRDF Global partnered with Lawtelier and the Lithuanian Center of Excellence in Anti Money Laundering on a sanctions compliance workshop to strengthen European financial sector capabilities to mitigate complex Russia and Belarus-related sanctions risks on April 17, 2024 in Vilnius, Lithuania. The workshop brought together participants from the Ministry of Interior’s Financial Crime Investigation Service, the Bank of Lithuania and key financial institutions and leaders within Lithuania’s compliance community.
The agenda included sessions on EU and U.S. sanctions packages which prevent entities linked to the Russian government from accessing to the legitimate financial market and resources required to sustain its warfare capabilities in Ukraine. Ellex, a law firm based in Vilnius, also provided a deep dive into recent Lithuanian case law developments within the courts. The workshop was an opportunity for top sanctions experts from Lithuania to swap insights on the latest sanctions evasion tactics used by Russian defense networks, and to receive updated guidance on international best practices when conducting due diligence, determining beneficial ownership, and applying recommendations and guidance issued by relevant regulatory and enforcement authorities.
The workshop was led by Hanz Giovanni Chiappetta, Matthew Bock, and Marika Romani from Lawtelier; Eglė Lukošienė from the Lithuanian Center of Excellence in Anti-Money Laundering; Marta Kosmyna from CRDF Global; and Neringa Mickevičiūtė from Ellex. The workshop was possible due to funding support by the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Cooperative Threat Reduction.
This programing built on previous CRDF Global engagements in Lithuania in 2023 with Moody’s Analytics to strengthen the European financial sector’s resilience against Russian malign influence. The sessions also contributed to CRDF Global’s ongoing work to secure legitimate financial markets from exploitation by sanctioned actors through counter-proliferation finance trainings, specialized briefings, and timely research.
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