Anti-circumvention: analysis and guidelines for an enhanced due diligence

Following Russia’s increasingly elaborate moves to circumvent the wall of restrictive measures, the EU and the US are working to understand what activities and paths are used to circumvent sanctions and how to help companies better evaluate business partners, transactions and goods, reducing the risk, even involuntary, to encourage illicit operations.

Trends in bank secrecy act data: suspected evasion of Russian export controls

In response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and to the increasing concerns about the circumvention of export controls to Russia, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) recently published a report entitled “Trends in Bank Secrecy Act Data: Suspected Evasion of Russian Export Controls“. This report is the result of an in-depth analysis of financial models and trends that emerged in reports pursuant to the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA). Released on September 8, 2023, the report sheds light on an intricate world of suspicious financial assets valued at approximately $1 billion.

The identification of these financial activities has been possible thanks to an accurate due diligence of the customers, to the analysis of the data of the transactions, to the examination of the bills of lading and the invoices. Within these suspicious transactions, the delivery of goods of US origin to Russian recipients occurs both directly and through intermediaries. The analysis of the data deriving from the BSA has allowed to identify the presence of US assets destined to Russian companies, especially in strategic sectors of high value. These assets could potentially be used to support Russian military efforts in Ukraine.