Series 9, Episode 3: North Korea, Russia, crypto and changing attitudes to sanctions in Asia

This episode of Compliance Clarified brings together Helen Chan, Regulatory Intelligence's regulatory expert in Hong Kong and Rachel Wolcott, senior editor in London to discuss what closer ties between North Korea and Russia mean for sanctions and compliance officials. Helen and Rachel delve into the growing entanglement between secondary sanctions risk and cryptocurrencies. Crypto exchanges and services—Tornado Cash, Bitzlato-- have been sanctioned or closed for helping sanctioned entities launder assets. North Korean cybercriminals use the crypto universe to generate income, hide it and then cash it out with impunity. All those assets are going into the DPRK's weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programme. It is not just crypto though. North Korea is adept at using shell companies and exploiting corrupt officials to access the international financial system to supply the country with what it needs to further its WMD ambitions. Helen talks through British American Tobacco's recent settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice for North Korean sanctions violations and other cases that demonstrate what is at stake for companies and financial institutions. At the same time, Asian countries like Singapore and Japan are implementing their own unilateral regimes. Japan for example has implemented trade and economic sanctions against Russia which it intends to enforce robustly. That is a departure from the status quo that compliance officers need to consider carefully. Links Closer Russia/North Korea ties merges two sanctions worlds, creates refuge for stolen cryptoassets: https://regintel-content.thomsonreuters.com/document/I3A612A40620C11EEA33AE89A432BD9D5 COLUMN: Unilateral sanctions regimes take off in Japan, Singapore: https://regintel-content.thomsonreuters.com/document/IFB452A40681511EE80EAED51AC57F6AF OFAC Sanctions: https://ofac.treasury.gov/recent-actions/20230831 UN Panel of Experts North Korea reports https://www.securitycouncilreport.org/un_documents_type/sanctions-committee-documents/?ctype=DPRK%20%28North%20Korea%29&cbtype=dprk-north-korea DPRK Reports Database (free to use!)https://dprk-reports.org/ Contact us! [email protected] [email protected] For more information about Regulatory Intelligence, click here: https://legal.thomsonreuters.com/en/products/regulatory-intelligence Compliance Clarified is a podcast from Thomson Reuters Regulatory Intelligence.Listen to wide-ranging, insightful discussions on all things compliance for financial services firms. We delve into the hot topics of the day, the challenges faced and offer up practical ideas for emerging good practice. We de-mystify regulation and explore the art, as well as the science, of the ever-expanding role of the compliance officer.  Enforcements, digital transformation, regulatory change, governance, culture, conduct risk – anything and everything impacting the compliance function is up for discussion.