The alert was issued by the JMLIT+ Sanctions Facilitators Cell, with representation from law enforcement, private industry, regulators and OFSI.
William Dodsworth, co-chair UK Sanctions Facilitators Cell and managing director, compliance, Barclays, said looking at the unprecedented volume of new sanctions implemented this year, public and private sector cooperation has never been more critical.
“Our long-standing partnership has enabled the creation of this red alert and it will support the UK’s defences against illicit finance as we work together to ensure compliance with sanctions,” he said.
Adrian Searle, director, National Economic Crime Centre, said as the UK government designates more entities in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the risk of sanctions evasion increases.
“This Alert has been developed jointly between private sector partners and government to share insights on how to detect designated entities attempting to circumvent the sanctions imposed on them. It is through such public private partnership working that we will uproot illicit finance activity from the UK,” Mr Searle said.
Giles Thompson, director, HM Treasury’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation, said since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the government has introduced an unprecedented quantity of sanctions designations.
“OFSI has worked tirelessly to ensure that these sanctions are understood, implemented and enforced, and this diligence has been matched by colleagues across the private sector. This latest collaboration outlines the significant exposure that many sections of industry have to sanctions evasion, and given the nature of the risks identified, is something we will all need to be increasingly vigilant to,” Mr Thompson said.
