Banks and firms face a mammoth sanctions-compliance challenge

WITH UNPRECEDENTEDOFACEU sanctions come unprecedented compliance challenges. Western banks and companies hoping to navigate the morass are, at least, getting some help from the Office of Financial Assets Control (), which oversees most American measures. It has published answers to 62 “frequently asked questions” about those against Russia. But compliance officers craving clarity can hardly relax. The legalese runs to 13,800 words—and leaves many queries unanswered since guidance is still being fleshed out. Moreover, new sanctions are being added almost daily. And the ones imposed by Britain, the and others overlap only partially with America’s.The Western response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is in terms of both the number of countries participating, and the size and interconnectedness of the target’s economy. They have created what Stephen Platt, author of “Criminal Capital”, a book about financial crime, calls “a sanctions-compliance emergency”.