Global companies today conduct business in the context of multi-layered —and occasionally conflicting—national and supranational economic sanctions regimes, and as a result economic sanctions compliance has become increasingly complicated. An effective and dynamic compliance program is essential for companies to navigate around legal pitfalls successfully, but the complexity of current sanctions regimes need not always chill investment in risky jurisdictions. Companies should take all necessary steps to comply with applicable sanctions rules, but they need not over-comply by subjecting themselves to a standard stricter than what those regimes themselves impose. Rather, companies that take a tailored, risk-based approach may successfully be able to conduct business in jurisdictions they may have previously considered to be off-limits.
This article will discuss the commonly recognized elements of an effective sanctions compliance program, some of the ways in which the global sanctions system can create complex issues, and how to reduce risk in complicated jurisdictions.
