While the G7 members decide in intense discussions the possibility to completely abandon the purchase of Russian energy resources, on May 8, the United States and Great Britain have approved a new package of sanctions against Russia and Belarus, which are mainly aimed at trade and entry restrictions. Currently, Russia is the world leader in the number of sanctions – all possible types of sanctions have been applied to it. This amount of sanctions affects their practical implementation due to the lack of traceability, transparency and common understanding, but it is important to remember that the abovementioned reason does not exempt a person from the obligation to comply with and fulfill international and national sanctions.
The events of the last three months of this year have caused much confusion and uncertainty in the business environment, affecting much, if not all, of the world. What is happening now can be compared to a board game, where each participant is dealt the same number of cards and everyone has to play by the same rules. Among the players, there will always be someone who will be more cautious and will more carefully evaluate their every move and decision, someone who, on the contrary, will be overly confident and bold in taking the risks, and someone who will skip a move and wait for the right moment to enter the game. However, regardless of which player category you belong to, as the game continues, depending on the cards dealt, the conditions that influence decisions and subsequent moves also change. Although it might seem that it is impossible to determine the winner of the game until it is played, experience shows that usually the winner is the one, who bases his decisions and actions on thinking them through beforehand and predicting the possible consequences.
If the player does not have complete information, the advantage will be given to the one, who knows or has the possibility of obtaining additional information..
It is very similar to the business world, where the entrepreneur is constantly one of the players. However, considering the ever-increasing restrictions related to the application of sanctions against Russia and Belarus, and the lack of understanding among the businessmen, how to properly respond to the adopted restrictions and how to manage the possible risks, currently the growth of business is limited or even exposed to destruction. Whether the entrepreneur will be able to adapt to the new business rules, which are limited by many external aspects, depends on the entrepreneur's own will and capabilities.
One of the biggest stumbling blocks among the entrepreneurs is the lack of common understanding and guidelines. If those industries that are regulated by the AML/CPTF law are relatively well informed about the actions to be taken in fulfilling the requirements of sanctions, then other areas, such as logistics companies, manufacturers of various goods / equipment and other entrepreneurs, who are not monitored by the controlling authorities, try to break through on their own with these complex regulations on the restrictions, investing quite a lot of their own resources.
This time is quite intense for the experts of Atbilst, helping entrepreneurs to carry out a risk analysis of sanctions in relation to both the cooperation partner and the transaction itself. When assessing the possibility of sanctions risk, experts use various auxiliary tools in their work, including several international commercial databases, in which the collected information is usually not available for the public sources. For example, through the Dow Jones Risk & Compliance database, an extended person check is carried out against sanctions and politically exposed persons (PEP) lists, i.e., checking whether restrictions imposed by other countries are not applied and the person being checked is not recognized as a foreign PEP. According to the requested check, the client is given the result of the performed check and the materials obtained during it.
To ease the burden on entrepreneurs carrying out checks on various sanctions lists, Atbilst has developed a technological solution through which it is possible to perform a one-time or regular check of persons against the sanctions lists binding in Latvia. This tool is a quick and convenient way of sanctions screening without requiring much effort or advanced skills in performing it. In addition to screening against sanctions lists, it is possible to apply for an enhanced screening in the previously mentioned Dow Jones Risk & Compliance database.
Even though Atbilst.lv is a relatively new service provider on the Latvian market, the solutions it offers are well-developed, handy and easy to use for any entrepreneur, who cares about their reputation and is ready to apply the principle of risk-based approach in their business model.
Remember that"If a player does not have complete information, then the one who knows or has the possibility of obtaining additional information will have the advantage". Use the opportunity and apply for a consultation.
Alina Gamidova, Atbilst expert
