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ARTICLE · 25 AUGUST 2021

Canada Modifies Belarus Sanctions And Introduces Efficiencies To Report Requirements Under Sergei Magnitsky Law

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On August 9, 2021, the Canadian government announced modified sanctions against Belarus under the Special Economic Measures Act ("SEMA"), targeting activities related to transferable securities and...

CanadaInternational Law
Leila Rafi
Leila Rafi
Amy Liang
Amy Liang
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Modified Belarus Sanctions

On August 9, 2021, the Canadian government announced modified sanctions against Belarus under the Special Economic Measures Act 1 ("SEMA"), targeting activities related to transferable securities and money market instruments, debt financing, insurance and reinsurance, petroleum products, and potassium chloride. A detailed discussion on the latter components of these measures is available in our bulletin from earlier this month.

The sanctions are applicable to Belarus, Belarusian banks, organizations controlled by Belarus, or persons acting on behalf of such entities (each, a "Belarus Entity"), and supplement the sanctions initially announced in September 2020. Seeking to apply pressure on high-ranking Belarusian officials, such as President Lukashenko, the Canadian government has imposed the sanctions as a direct acknowledgement of the "ongoing, gross and systematic violations of human rights in Belarus," attempting to

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