Wealthy individuals and large businesses with links to the Russian regime will be further restricted from accessing UK legal expertise to make deals that could strengthen the nation’s war chest – further increasing pressure on the government of President Putin.

A new law introduced by the government today (June 29) will prevent UK lawyers from advising Russian companies in certain business transactions – preventing the country from benefiting economically from UK’s world-leading legal expertise. This could include commercial agreements between global corporations or international money lending.

The measure builds on existing sanctions against Russia over the past year, under which its companies are restricted from accessing a range of legal advice and expertise from the Kingdom’s lawyers. Older brother.

The new rules would expand existing rules on Russia’s use of UK legal experts to facilitate certain commercial activities that benefit the country – and possibly block legal experts from advising international companies on lending decisions for Russian businesses, for example.

Russia relies heavily on Western countries for legal expertise, with the UK previously exporting £56m in legal services to Russian businesses each year. Today’s news will continue to hold Putin’s government accountable for the heinous crimes being committed in Ukraine.

The Prime Minister and Attorney General, Alex Chalk, said:

The UK legal system underpins many international contracts and businesses, and we will no longer allow Russia to benefit from our knowledge and expertise.

The Russian regime must be held accountable for its violation of international law, and these sanctions are increasing economic pressure to further isolate the Russian Government from the rest of the world.

Secretary of State James Cleverly said:

We continue to suppress the Russian war machine, hold Putin accountable and make it harder for him to cause suffering to the Ukrainian people.

Today, we are further strengthening the UK’s sanctions approach, strengthening our measures to prevent Russia from benefiting from UK legal expertise.

The UK is steadfast in its commitment to support Ukraine for as long as possible.

The law of England and Wales is at the heart of many international business and financial transactions, and the UK is one of the leading providers of legal assistance and advice in such global transactions. .

Further increasing economic pressure on the Russian regime will further disrupt the nation’s vital supply chains and further impact export bans on goods and services that already target vulnerable sectors. economic damage.

Today’s regulations follow a severe package of sanctions that the UK Government claims will limit legal advice services dealing with the export of nearly 700 items from the UK to Russia. This includes hundreds of which are important for production in the Russian manufacturing sector.

In total, £19 billion worth of Anglo-Russian trade was sanctioned in whole or in part, based on trade flows in 2021.

The restrictions on legal services do not include legal representation for Russian citizens using UK legal expertise, ensuring that allowing people access to legal aid remains an aspect. core of the rule of law across the UK.