The second event of the UNIC Business Integrity Month Sanctions: Game’s Rules in the New Reality

On May 16, the second event of the UNIC Business Integrity Month Sanctions: Game’s Rules in the New Reality was held in partnership with the UNIC member company COSA.

 

During the first panel discussion “Key Aspects of the Sanctions Policy Implementation for Business,” experts discussed the imposition of sanctions on the Ukrainian market after russia's full-scale invasion, the American and European procedures for imposing sanctions, involvement of the banking system in the sanctions implementation, regulatory control and termination of business with russia.

The moderator, Pavlo Verkhnyatskyi, COSA Managing Partner, the International Working Group on Russian Sanctions member, and  the UNIC Integrity Committee member, summarized several conclusions voiced by the speakers:

• The sanctions policy is part of the economic front and helps businesses to be effective and fight the aggressor. All sanctions imposed on russia are now effectively working or are in the final stages of implementation: the FATF blacklist, sanctions on key russian banks, russian sovereign assets freezing, etc. Despite skepticism about the sanctions’ effectiveness, they undermine russia's economic and military capabilities. However, there are still ways to circumvent the sanctions that need to be fought.
• For Ukrainian businesses with a principled policy, breaking ties with the aggressor country is important. There are also international businesses that have pro-Ukrainian positions in Ukraine, but at the same time, they are still represented in russia. The Ukrainian offices of these companies are making incredible efforts to convince their head offices to leave the russian market. Often, due to the economic consequences for the company, organizational processes, or change of ownership, ethical standards are put on the back burner. But it is worth emphasizing that today every time a company is recognized as a war sponsor, it is a huge blow to its reputation. Therefore, it is an important tool that influences the revision of the company's policy and pushes them to leave the russian market.
• Banks and the financial system have become the first line of the state's sanctions policy implementation. Banks do not think about the need to expose their ties with russia; for them, it is a duty and a contribution to victory. Today, banks primarily need practical and quick solutions to implement sanctions policies to work effectively. For example, a unified format for data on sanctioned persons is an urgent issue. An affordable technological solution should be introduced. Data in an open and machine-readable format will be helpful for quick decisions, especially when it is necessary to prevent transactions of potentially sanctioned persons.

In the second part of the event, the participants attended a practical training, "Counterparty Verification Procedure: Step-by-Step Tips.”

 

To view the event, please follow the link: https://bit.ly/3Ii13rd

The next event within the UNIC Business Integrity Month is a panel discussion: "Tax Efficiency during Wartime: risks analysis and opportunities for business and the state.”

 

To register for the event and ask questions to the speakers, please follow the link: https://forms.gle/Uxkmqrzk4dJXzuC86