13 Belarus Officials Added to Sanctions

Summary#

The federal government added 13 people to the list of people targeted by the Special Economic Measures (Belarus) Regulations. The change makes it illegal for Canadians and people in Canada to deal with those people’s property or to provide related services. The amendments came into force on November 5, 2020 and were published in the Canada Gazette on November 25, 2020.

What it does#

• Adds these 13 individuals to the Schedule of the Special Economic Measures (Belarus) Regulations:
  • Igor Petrovich Sergeenko
  • Aleksey Aleksandrovich Volkov
  • Ivan Stanislavovich Tertel
  • Ivan Danilovich Noskevich
  • Roman Ivanovich Melnik
  • Andrey Alekseyevich Ravkov
  • Sergey Yakovlevich Azemsha
  • Andrey Fedorovich Smal
  • Andrey Yuryevich Pavlyuchenko
  • Natalya Nikolayevna Eismont
  • Igor Ivanovich Buzovskiy
  • Sergey Yevgenyevich Zubkov
  • Petr Petrovich Miklashevich
• Continues the Regulations’ core prohibitions. Under them, Canadians and people in Canada must not, with respect to a listed person:
  • deal in any property owned, held or controlled by that person;
  • enter into or help transactions involving such property;
  • provide financial or related services for such dealings;
  • make goods available to the listed person;
  • provide financial services for the benefit of the listed person.
• As a consequence of being listed, those persons are found inadmissible to Canada under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.
• The rules applied by their terms before publication and took effect on the day they were registered.
• The government can still issue permits in specific cases under the related Special Economic Measures (Belarus) Permit Authorization Order.

Who's affected#

• The 13 named Belarusian individuals who were added to the list.
• Canadians and people in Canada who do business, hold assets, or provide services that could involve those listed people.
• Canadian banks and financial institutions. They must update screening and monitoring systems to block prohibited dealings.
• Canadian businesses that might seek a permit to do otherwise-prohibited transactions with a listed person.
• Enforcement and border agencies, including the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Canada Border Services Agency, which are responsible for enforcing the rules.

Why it matters#

• The measures freeze and block dealings with the listed people. That can stop them from using assets or banking services in Canada.
• The rules are meant to pressure the Government of Belarus over alleged human rights abuses and to align Canada with the actions of like-minded partners.
• There is a legal risk for people who willfully break the rules: a fine of up to $25,000, or imprisonment for up to one year on summary conviction, and up to five years on indictment.
• For most Canadian businesses the direct impact is expected to be small. Banks and firms will incur some compliance work to ensure they do not deal with the listed individuals.
• Permits and humanitarian exemptions exist, so some specific activities can be allowed in exceptional cases.