Sanctions and Export Controls

Sanctions and Export Controls

Our multidisciplinary team offers responsive, full-service sanctions and export controls advice to cover any contingency our clients may face.

WilmerHale recognizes that sanctions and export controls have increasingly become top-line business risks, and we appreciate that our clients need full-service, operational, client-focused legal advice. We provide a one-stop global support team to help our clients across industry sectors, covering every aspect of economic sanctions and export controls, including laws and regulations; policy, compliance, and licensing; administrative and civil enforcement; and criminal prosecution defense. Our team not only assists with the urgent cross-border economic sanctions and export control matters of the moment, but can also help you see around corners and ensure your business is prepared for tomorrow’s dynamic challenges.

Our team prides itself on providing clients with pragmatic, customized advice to cope with fast-changing sanctions and export controls requirements and to help navigate risk-based options. We can assist you with developing and enhancing foundational compliance building blocks like policies and procedures, training, corporate transactional due diligence, audit and monitoring, and risk assessments, and represent you in interfacing with regulators for needed guidance and authorizations. We can also help liaise with critical national security and intelligence community stakeholders. When things don’t go as planned, we’re with you every step of the way, helping you investigate, mitigate risks, and make appropriate self-disclosures  And, in the event of a regulatory, civil, or criminal enforcement inquiry or prosecution action, we will defend you.

Our seasoned, global team consists of a roster of talented lawyers with deep, diverse government and private-sector experience. Our lawyers have held senior positions in the US Departments of Commerce, Treasury, State, Defense, and Justice, and on Capitol Hill; served for years in Europe and China; and held leading in-house roles, adding up to decades of deep regulatory expertise.

Our sanctions and export controls capabilities draw from our firm’s international trade and investment, national security, financial services, investigations, litigation, and enforcement practices—bringing together the skills and experience necessary to help you tackle complex challenges with creative, multidisciplinary solutions. We frequently provide industry-specific advice to clients across a range of sectors, including information technology; defense, aerospace and government services; e-commerce and social media; healthcare, pharmaceuticals and medical devices; energy; manufacturing; news, publishing and entertainment media; and financial services, securities, blockchain and cryptocurrency.

Our experience and capabilities include:

  • Multijurisdictional economic sanctions and export controls-related legal advice
  • OFAC/economic sanctions program compliance
  • BIS/EAR export controls program compliance
  • Defense and dual-use jurisdiction and classification (BIS/EAR, DDTC/ITAR)
  • Export licensing, including “deemed export,” requirements
  • EU, EU Member State, and UK sanctions and export controls–related services
  • China sanctions and export controls–related services
  • Corporate due diligence for mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, and trade financing
  • Legislative and regulatory advocacy
  • Risk assessments, compliance reviews and compliance program implementation
  • Internal investigations and voluntary self-disclosures
  • Administrative and enforcement actions
  • Criminal advocacy and defense of executives and multinational corporations

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Experience

  • Advisory & Compliance

    • Advised a number of industrial multinationals with remaining operations in Russia on how to navigate successive sanction packages in the US, EU and UK as they apply to their relations with local subsidiaries and assist them in obtaining necessary licenses and authorizations.
    • Advised life sciences multinational clients on navigating complex, multijurisdictional sanctions and export control rules on humanitarian trade in Russia, China, and other global markets.
    • Advised numerous clients in various industries (IT, media, manufacturing, and energy) about compliance with US and EU sanctions and export control restrictions applicable to winding down operations in Russia after February 2022. This work included assisting in developing internal compliance plans to implement the wind-downs, engaging with OFAC to deal with Russian countermeasures, and protecting local employees and IP rights against retaliation.
    • Advised one of the world’s largest central securities depositories on compliance with applicable US sanctions requirements and engagement with OFAC to obtain needed guidance and authorizations for complex financial services involving holdings of blocked assets and dealings with Directive 4 entities. In addition, we assisted the client with developing defenses under US sanctions law against litigation claims based on Russian court orders and countermeasures.
    • Provided comprehensive trade compliance advice (ITAR, EAR, OFAC and FTR) to a US-based global manufacturer of motion control products, including assistance with developing and enhancing internal compliance policies, providing compliance training to responsible personnel, conducting risk assessments and compliance reviews, and making voluntary self-disclosures to relevant regulatory authorities when possible compliance issues arose. Our work also includes diligence and compliance advice relating to M&A transactions.
    • Advised one of the world’s largest social media companies on its compliance obligations under international sanctions laws. We addressed compliance risks posed by platform monetization features that were vulnerable to abuse. We also advised on regulatory expectations regarding sanctions due diligence and helped develop an effective sanctions compliance program. This work posed novel challenges regarding how to implement sanctions compliance controls on a platform operating at significant scale and exemplifies the firm’s strong cross-border sanctions expertise.
    • Advised a digital communications and technology multinational on US, EU and UK trade compliance and sanctions measures on various matters, including assistance with licensing, advice on applicable compliance requirements for different types of transactions, and risk assessments. After the client decided to terminate operations in Russia, we advised on how to divest its Russian business in an orderly and sanctions-compliant manner, including how to minimize the risk of retaliation against employees and assets that remained there.
    • Advised clients involved at various levels (wholesale, retail and global laboratories) of the international diamond trade about compliance with Kimberley Process requirements and with US and EU import bans on Russian diamonds and jewelry.
    • Represented a global manufacturer of video and monitor display products in BIS licensing matters applicable to reexports of US software used in offshore design and production activities and in its global supply chain.  This work included a review of the client's internal compliance procedures applicable to US export controls and analysis of how recent BIS foreign direct product rules impacted applicable licensing requirements.
    • Conducted an ITAR internal investigation for a defense contractor with regard to international transactions involving sensitive defense technology.
    • Advised a defense sector advanced technology business on application of the “defense services” rules with regard to cybersecurity activities.
    • Conducted diligence for a cross-jurisdiction M&A transaction with regard to economic sanctions and export control risk screening and provided advice on the applicable restrictions of legacy clients.
    • Conducted diligence for an M&A transaction involving application of the ITAR and EAR on an advanced materials company and provided day-to-day follow-on advice on export control requirements post-close.
    • Conducted a sensitive ITAR internal investigation for an advanced technology company.
    • Conducted an ITAR internal investigation for an advanced aeronautics company.
    • Advised various clients on China’s anti-sanctions and blocking statutes, as well as informal sanctions.
    • Advised a university about compliance with US antiboycott laws, including with respect to campus activities in support of BDS initiatives.

  • Enforcement

    • Represented Fokker Services in a BIS, OFAC and DOJ sanctions violation investigation and prosecution resulting in the successful negotiation of a global resolution including a Deferred Prosecution Agreement with DOJ.
    • Represented US fund managers in DOJ and OFAC sanctions violation investigations.
    • Represented a US investment management firm in OFAC, DOJ and SEC investigations concerning possible enforcement actions against international transfers of funds, financial services, and investment activity alleged to involve the property interests of a prominent Russian oligarch designated as a blocked person.
    • Conducted an extensive internal investigation on behalf of a holding company concerning assets and the operation of a trust to confirm that no such assets or trust were the property interest of a Russian party sanctioned under US and EU law.  We also prepared a memorandum setting forth our investigation findings and assisted the client in engagement with financial institutions and investment funds to demonstrate that there was no reason under applicable US or EU sanctions laws to suspend or restrict dealings involving such assets and the trust.
    • Represented a global aerospace firm in an enforcement action led by the State Department Directorate of Defense Trade Controls.

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