Britain will create a service to monitor compliance with sanctions against Russia

The unit will monitor companies that, among other things, export sanctioned goods through third countries. Previously, more than a hundred British businesses admitted that they did not comply with sanctions . Russia considers the measures illegal

The UK government will establish the Office of Trade Sanctions Implementation (OTSI), a unit that will monitor how companies comply with restrictive measures imposed, including against Russia. This was announced by Minister of Industry and Economic Security Nusrat Ghani.

The service will investigate possible violations of sanctions, impose fines and, if necessary, refer criminal cases to HM Revenue and Customs. Its activities, among other things, will be directed against companies that can circumvent restrictions by sending sanctioned goods through third countries.

The creation of OTSI should “send a clear signal to violators that there is nowhere to hide,” Ghani said. The unit will launch in early 2024 and will work alongside the Office of Financial Sanctions Enforcement (OFSI), which was founded in 2016.

As of May 2023, 127 British companies voluntarily informed the authorities that they did not comply with anti-Russian sanctions, the Financial Times wrote, citing the country's Ministry of Digital Development. The newspaper noted that for voluntary confession and cooperation with the investigation, the punishment could be mitigated.

Since the beginning of hostilities in Ukraine, London has adopted several tough packages of sanctions against Moscow. As part of the latest round, introduced in early December, 45 Russian individuals and legal entities were subject to restrictions, including Jan Petrovsky, better known as Vojislav Torden, one of the leaders of the sabotage and assault reconnaissance group (DSRG) “Rusich”. At the same time, London promised measures against foreign companies involved in military supplies to Russia.

Russian authorities consider Western sanctions illegal and ineffective; President Vladimir Putin believes the country's economy has recovered from restrictions. According to him, Moscow was able to replace part of Western products with analogues of its own production or goods from “friendly countries.”

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