Four Individuals Added to Ukraine Sanctions

Summary#

These are final regulations (SOR/2022-30) that add four people to the list of sanctioned individuals under the Special Economic Measures (Ukraine) Regulations. The rules took effect when registered on February 24, 2022, and they impose restrictions such as asset freezes and transaction bans against the named people.

What it does#

• Adds four people to Part 1 of the schedule of the Special Economic Measures (Ukraine) Regulations:
  • Taras Romanovych KOZAK
  • Volodymyr Mykolayovich OLIYNYK
  • Oleg Anatoliyovych VOLOSHYN
  • Vladimir Leonidovich SIVKOVICH
• Stops people in Canada and Canadians abroad from dealing with the property of, doing transactions with, or providing services or goods to the listed individuals.
• Requires banks and financial institutions to add the new names to their monitoring and compliance systems.
• Adds the names to the public Consolidated Canadian Autonomous Sanctions List so regulated parties can check them.
• Notes that the rules were applied from February 24, 2022, even before they were published in the Canada Gazette.
• Enforcement is handled by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Canada Border Services Agency.
• Criminal penalties for knowingly breaking the rules include a fine of up to $25,000 or imprisonment of up to 1 year on summary conviction, or up to 5 years on indictment.

Who's affected#

• The four individuals named above and their financial networks.
• People and businesses in Canada and Canadians abroad who might try to do business with these individuals.
• Banks and financial institutions that must update screening systems.
• Small businesses are unlikely to be affected unless they have dealings with the listed people; the government says such links are probably limited.
• Global Affairs Canada is the department that manages the sanctions and permit system for any exceptional transactions.

Why it matters#

• These are targeted sanctions. They aim to cut off financial and commercial support for people Canada says are linked to Russia’s actions in Ukraine.
• The move signals Canada’s condemnation of Russia’s behaviour and aligns Canada with other countries taking similar steps.
• For the listed people, it can mean frozen assets in Canada and an effective ban on Canadian business or financial services.
• For Canadian banks and some businesses, it means a small compliance cost to screen and block matches.
• The regulation sits within a broader international response to the crisis in Ukraine, which included reports of large Russian troop movements (about 100,000 troops massed, with 30,000 moved into Belarus and 10,000 into Crimea).