Herbert Smith Freehills Fined £465,000 for Sanction Breaches

Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF), a prominent London law firm, has been fined £465,000 for breaching UK sanctions by making six payments totaling £3.9 million to three Russian banks that were subject to asset freezes following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) determined that the payments, made during the final week of HSF's operations in Moscow, resulted from a pattern of compliance failures and inadequate due diligence. The fine was reduced by 50% due to HSF's voluntary disclosure of the breaches. City Minister Emma Reynolds emphasized the UK's commitment to enforcing sanctions as essential for supporting Ukraine. HSF attributed the errors to human oversight amid the hurried closure of its Moscow office, which had been operational since 1999. The firm stated that the payments did not relate to its clients or any other offices outside Moscow.