AUSTRAC announcement shows heightened focus on sanctions compliance

Key takeaways

• The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) has established an intelligence unit dedicated to monitoring compliance with Russian sanctions, signalling a sharper regulatory focus on sanctions laws.
• Given this increased regulatory focus, businesses need to take steps to ensure they comply with sanctions.
• We recommend that businesses take a particularly cautious approach when dealing with individuals or entities based in Russia or the sanctioned region of Ukraine and develop and implement robust compliance policies, procedures and other controls for monitoring for compliance with sanctions laws.
• Businesses that provide a designated service should also update their anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) program and compliance arrangements to ensure they adhere to AML/CTF laws when dealing with persons who are sanctioned or in sanctioned territories, which AUSTRAC regards as 'high risk'.