contributing to the situation in Ukraine”.
44 Under US law, these orders were based
inter alia, on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act,
45 the National
Emergencies Act,
46 section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952,
47
and section 301 of title 3 of the United States Code. On 19 December 2014, another
Presidential executive order (No. 13685) followed, blocking not only property of
certain persons but also prohibiting certain transactions with respect to the Crimea
region.
As a result, EU sanctions and US sanctions generally follow the same twofold
approach of both targeting specific entities and persons as well introducing broader
economic sanctions. For the purposes of this paper, the exact content of all
implementing US acts and bylaws cannot be discussed in detail. The applicable
US sanctions target comparable “objects” and persons, covering asset freezes and
imposing travel bans on more than 200 individuals and entities from Russia and
Ukraine on “Specially Designated Nationals” lists. New investments, imports and
exports, financing and facilitation of sanctioned transactions are all prohibited with
regard to the Crimea region. In a comparable way as implemented by the EU via
Regulation EU/833/2014 (as amended), the United States sanctions target Russia
directly, outlawing in particular the operations of major Russian banks and oil firms,
i.e. the provision of goods and services for Russian deep-water, Arctic offshore and
shale oil exploration and production projects. In terms of scope, the US sanctions
regime applies to entities organised under US laws and their non-US branches as
well as individuals or entities in the United States, including US citizens and
permanent resident aliens—no matter where these are incorporated or located.
If at all, there are some practical differences as compared to the EU in terms of
penalties and enforcement: Just like under the applicable EU sanctions regime,
violations can lead to being added to the sanctions list. However, the US can
administer and enforce its domestic sanctions regime in a centralised manner, i.e.,
on the federal law level. Consequently, there is no additional “enforcement layer” as
represented under EU law (via the various national laws of the EU Members). In
addition, the US is arguably one of the strictest national legal orders when it comes to
domestic enforcement of sanctions by administrative and criminal penalties: Criminal penalties for breaching US sanctions are up to $ 1m (per individual violation)
and up to 20 years imprisonment. For each violation, the upper limit on administrative penalties is $ 250,000 or double the transaction value, whichever is greater.
Nevertheless, the 2016 Lloyd’s List Crimea investigation (as already referred to
above) had also identified “at least nine US-linked vessel calls in the second half of
2014”.
48 However, it could be argued that these vessel calls took place during a
44 For further information and downloads of all applicable legal instruments, see: https://www.
treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/Programs/Pages/ukraine.aspx.
45 50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.
46 50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.
47 8 U.S.C. 1182(f).
48 Supra, note 9.
300
H. Jessen
44 Under US law, these orders were based
inter alia, on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act,
45 the National
Emergencies Act,
46 section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952,
47
and section 301 of title 3 of the United States Code. On 19 December 2014, another
Presidential executive order (No. 13685) followed, blocking not only property of
certain persons but also prohibiting certain transactions with respect to the Crimea
region.
As a result, EU sanctions and US sanctions generally follow the same twofold
approach of both targeting specific entities and persons as well introducing broader
economic sanctions. For the purposes of this paper, the exact content of all
implementing US acts and bylaws cannot be discussed in detail. The applicable
US sanctions target comparable “objects” and persons, covering asset freezes and
imposing travel bans on more than 200 individuals and entities from Russia and
Ukraine on “Specially Designated Nationals” lists. New investments, imports and
exports, financing and facilitation of sanctioned transactions are all prohibited with
regard to the Crimea region. In a comparable way as implemented by the EU via
Regulation EU/833/2014 (as amended), the United States sanctions target Russia
directly, outlawing in particular the operations of major Russian banks and oil firms,
i.e. the provision of goods and services for Russian deep-water, Arctic offshore and
shale oil exploration and production projects. In terms of scope, the US sanctions
regime applies to entities organised under US laws and their non-US branches as
well as individuals or entities in the United States, including US citizens and
permanent resident aliens—no matter where these are incorporated or located.
If at all, there are some practical differences as compared to the EU in terms of
penalties and enforcement: Just like under the applicable EU sanctions regime,
violations can lead to being added to the sanctions list. However, the US can
administer and enforce its domestic sanctions regime in a centralised manner, i.e.,
on the federal law level. Consequently, there is no additional “enforcement layer” as
represented under EU law (via the various national laws of the EU Members). In
addition, the US is arguably one of the strictest national legal orders when it comes to
domestic enforcement of sanctions by administrative and criminal penalties: Criminal penalties for breaching US sanctions are up to $ 1m (per individual violation)
and up to 20 years imprisonment. For each violation, the upper limit on administrative penalties is $ 250,000 or double the transaction value, whichever is greater.
Nevertheless, the 2016 Lloyd’s List Crimea investigation (as already referred to
above) had also identified “at least nine US-linked vessel calls in the second half of
2014”.
48 However, it could be argued that these vessel calls took place during a
44 For further information and downloads of all applicable legal instruments, see: https://www.
treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/Programs/Pages/ukraine.aspx.
45 50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.
46 50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.
47 8 U.S.C. 1182(f).
48 Supra, note 9.
300
H. Jessen