PUBLICATIONS

In late June, OFAC launched an online portal for petitions for individual sanctions reconsideration (Reconsideration Portal) and published clarifications for petitioners. The resource is designed to streamline the petition process by explaining how to provide all the necessary information at once, rather than waiting for OFAC to request additional information. Currently, lengthy question-and-answer sessions “may […]

The Arbitration Court upheld the Prosecutor’s Office in a case concerning a foreigner’s sale of shares in a former tool factory in St. Petersburg, including with respect to tax claims. Tax authorities did not conduct an investigation. How this became possible is discussed in a commentary by Andrei Gusev, Senior Partner at Nordic Star, for

In July, the European Union unveiled a new sanctions package, imposing restrictions on 90 Russian banks, banning transactions with crypto exchanges in third countries, and expanding the ban on recognizing and enforcing Russian court decisions. The new restrictions could affect some investors and ongoing legal proceedings, according to lawyers. The Advocate General and the Court

Starting in September, Russia’s first cryptocurrency law will come into effect, bringing all cryptocurrency transactions under regulatory control. Investors will be able to buy and sell cryptocurrency through licensed intermediaries, and only assets approved by the Central Bank will be allowed to trade on exchanges. Lawyers call the proposed regulation balanced, except that it will

Mikhail Fridman is challenging the “expropriation” of his Dutch assets worth “hundreds of millions,” citing a 1989 investment protection treaty. Billionaire Mikhail Fridman initiated arbitration proceedings against the Netherlands in March 2025, accusing the kingdom of freezing and effectively expropriating his local assets worth “hundreds of millions of dollars” under the pretext of sanctions. The

The Supreme Court approved a thematic review on the application of legislation on special economic measures by arbitration courts. It included 22 legal positions on various issues, including the procedure for concluding transactions with a foreign element, the grounds for recognizing an assignment agreement as fictitious, and the conditions for compulsory licensing. The Supreme Court

The US House of Representatives passed a bill on aid to Ukraine and sanctions against Russia. Some of the measures are a reiteration of existing ones, but there are also some innovations, such as controls on the supply of foreign goods to Russia. Artem Zhavoronkov, Partner at Nordic Star Law Offices, commented on the bill

In the first quarter, the Federal Tax Service tripled the number of on-site audits of major companies, reaching 42. The amount of additional assessments increased almost eightfold, reaching 9.4 billion rubles. Experts surveyed by RBC believe it is too early to talk about a trend. They attribute the increase in audits to the automated system

A London arbitration award against Rusal for €248 million has failed to stand in Russia. The Kaliningrad Regional Arbitration Court has refused to enforce in Russia the London arbitration awards, which ordered Rusal (MOEX: RUAL) and its subsidiary RTI to pay nearly €248 million to the German bank OWH (formerly a subsidiary of VTB). Interestingly,

On June 1, 2026, a new procedure for importing goods by road from EAEU countries – the national SPOT (Goods Waiting Confirmation System) – will come into effect. This mechanism marks a shift from post-transaction control of indirect taxes to a preventive one, moving verification activities to the border crossing stage. At the same time,