International Sanctions Lawyers

International sanctions are restrictive measures imposed by states or international organisations — including the United Nations, the European Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States — against individuals, companies, or entire countries. These measures are designed to achieve foreign policy or national security objectives by applying financial and reputational pressure. Sanctions can take many forms: asset freezes, travel bans, arms embargoes, trade restrictions, and sectoral prohibitions targeting specific industries such as finance, energy, or defence. Unlike criminal proceedings, sanctions designations are administrative decisions — they are made without trial, often on the basis of classified intelligence, and take effect immediately upon publication. The consequences are severe: frozen accounts, blocked international transfers, severed banking relationships, and an effective exclusion from global commerce. Because multiple sanctions regimes operate simultaneously and often overlap, a person or entity may face coordinated restrictions from several jurisdictions at once, compounding the difficulty of any response.

Sanctions touch a broad and expanding range of individuals and entities. High-profile businesspeople and public figures may be designated because of their proximity to government or their economic prominence, irrespective of personal conduct. Companies can be listed because of ownership structures, sectoral activity, or association with a designated individual under beneficial ownership rules. Family members of designated persons are increasingly targeted as a pressure mechanism, even where no independent basis for designation exists. Assets — including bank accounts, securities, real estate, yachts, and aircraft — are subject to immediate freezing across all jurisdictions where a regime applies. Beyond formal designees, secondary sanctions create a further category of exposure: businesses that continue trading with designated parties may themselves become subject to sanctions, creating a chilling effect that extends well beyond the original list. Our clients include entrepreneurs, investors, legal entities, and asset managers who have been caught in sanctions regimes — sometimes through association, misidentification, or political targeting — and who require urgent and effective legal representation.

Challenging international sanctions requires a coordinated legal strategy across multiple jurisdictions and institutions. For EU sanctions, we file annulment actions before the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) and the General Court, challenging the legal basis and factual sufficiency of the designation decision. We also engage in administrative review procedures with the relevant EU Council working groups, presenting evidence and legal submissions aimed at securing delisting through diplomatic and administrative channels. For UK sanctions, we pursue review and appeal under the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018, including applications to the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) and, where necessary, judicial review before the High Court. For UN sanctions, we advise on submissions to the UN Ombudsperson mechanism, the primary route for individuals and entities listed under Chapter VII Security Council regimes. For U.S. OFAC sanctions, we prepare petitions for administrative reconsideration and pursue federal court review. In each case, we build a comprehensive evidentiary submission challenging the factual and legal basis of the designation, and we coordinate across jurisdictions to ensure that a successful outcome in one forum supports — rather than undermines — proceedings in others.

Every sanctions matter we handle is approached as a long-form international legal dispute requiring parallel tracks of activity. From day one, we conduct a full assessment of the designation: its legal basis, the applicable regime, the evidence cited, and the procedural history. We identify every available forum — administrative, judicial, and diplomatic — and develop a sequenced strategy that maximises the chances of success across all of them. We work with our network of specialist co-counsel in the EU, UK, U.S., and Switzerland to ensure seamless multi-jurisdictional representation. Our team includes lawyers with experience in international public law, financial regulation, and asset recovery, and we collaborate closely with forensic accountants, compliance specialists, and political risk advisors where the complexity of a case demands it. For clients whose assets have been frozen, we act urgently to preserve value, obtain emergency licences for essential expenditure, and prevent further dissipation. We have represented clients in matters arising from sanctions programmes targeting Russia, Belarus, Iran, Syria, and other high-profile jurisdictions, and we understand the legal, political, and human dimensions of what designation means for those affected.

If you or your business has been listed under EU, UK, UN, or U.S. sanctions, immediate legal advice is essential. Our international sanctions lawyers offer confidential consultations and can mobilise rapidly to protect your interests across all relevant jurisdictions. Contact us today to discuss your case and explore the options available to you.

When a sanctions designation is published, its effects are immediate. Bank accounts are frozen, payment systems are blocked, and counterparties are legally prevented from transacting with you. The first 72 hours following a designation are critical: acting quickly can preserve assets, secure emergency licences for essential expenditure, and lay the groundwork for a successful legal challenge.

Our international sanctions lawyers are available 24/7 for emergency consultations. From the moment of instruction, we take the following steps: we conduct a full mapping of all affected assets and accounts across relevant jurisdictions; we identify any available exemptions or licences under the applicable regime that would permit essential transactions to continue; we contact the relevant authorities — OFSI in the UK, OFAC in the US, the EU Council Secretariat — to notify them of our representation and to preserve any immediate appeal or review rights; and we begin preparation of a formal challenge or review petition.

Speed matters. The longer assets remain frozen without legal challenge, the greater the practical and reputational damage. Contact our international sanctions lawyers immediately if you have been listed or believe a designation is imminent.