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On June 23, 2023, the European Union published its 11th package of sanctions in relation to Russia. In addition to adding 71 individuals and 33 entities to the list of designated persons which are subject to sanctions, the new package fine-tunes the existing regime, with extensions primarily aimed at combatting circumvention more effectively and…

On May 22, 2023, the President of Russia signed Decree No. 364 (“Decree 364”) On Certain Amendments to Decree of the President of Russia No. 430 dated July 5, 2022 (“Decree 430”) requiring Russian businesses who have issued Eurobonds to issue replacement securities to enable holders whose bonds are held through Russian depositaries to receive payments.Continue Reading Russian Obligors Are Required to Issue Russian Bonds Replacing their Eurobonds

The first few months of 2023 have seen significant developments in the FDI landscape that will have a major impact on cross-border transactions. Deal makers need to be aware that the scope of FDI control is increasing:

  • With the United States taking major steps towards implementing an outbound FDI screening mechanism (which are echoed in Europe) and the European Commission further developing the EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation, new game changing regulatory frameworks take clearer shape.
  • Following the EU Commission’s calling of recent years, by the end of the year almost all EU member States will have adopted a national FDI screening regime.
  • On 27 April 2023, the UK Government published updated guidance that reflects its developing practice. Since January 2022, five transactions have been prohibited and 10 deals have been cleared subject to remedies.

Continue Reading Cleary Gottlieb FDI Newsletter: January–April 2023

The following post was originally included as part of our recently published memorandum “Selected Issues for Boards of Directors in 2023”.

This past year’s Russia-Ukraine conflict sparked a significant transformation of the global economic sanctions landscape, with developments and lessons extending well beyond Russia. 

In 2023, boards of directors should continue to monitor…

On September 9, 2022, the U.S. Department of the Treasury issued preliminary guidance (Preliminary Guidance) providing the initial outline of a long-anticipated price cap on Russian-origin crude oil and petroleum products (Price Cap), taking effect December 5, 2022 and February 5, 2023, respectively.[1]  The Price Cap is expected to be implemented by “a coalition of countries including the G7 and the EU” and follows an earlier statement of intent issued September 2, 2022 by G7 finance ministers.[2]
Continue Reading U.S. Treasury Department Issues Preliminary Guidance on Russian Oil Price Cap and Services Ban

Cleary Gottlieb partner Chase Kaniecki and associate Will Dawley co-authored an article titled, “3 Foreign Investment Issues Affecting Cross-Border Deals,” which was published by Law360.

In the article they provide a summary of the recent developments in the FDI review regimes in the EU and the U.K. and highlight three of the…

As the next part of our series of updates focusing on the key disputes and risk related issues arising from the conflict in Ukraine, we have highlighted specific instances where EU companies and executives may be exposed to risks of criminal liability. (Our first update focusing on the effect of the conflict on contractual obligations is here). Whether you are directly affected by these risks, or have a counter party which is constrained by them, it is essential to navigate them effectively.
Continue Reading Russia-Ukraine Disputes Taskforce: Risk of Criminal Liability

The United States, the European Union and the United Kingdom, along with a number of other jurisdictions, have responded to the ongoing military conflict in Ukraine by adopting new, additional and/or enhanced economic sanctions, trade restrictions and other restrictive measures targeting, in different ways, Russia, Belarus, and the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic and Luhansk People’s Republic, which Russia has purported to recognize as independent states.  Russia, in turn, has responded to these restrictive measures by adopting its own countermeasures and related regulations affecting, for example, certain dealings involving non-Russians in Russia.
Continue Reading Sanctions Developments Resulting From the Conflict in Ukraine

On April 6, 2022, the European Commission (“EC”) issued a communication calling for greater vigilance towards foreign direct investment (“FDI”) from Russia and Belarus, and guiding Member States on how best to screen and examine these investments going forward.[1]  The EU FDI alert follows the recently adopted EU sanctions package against both countries.[2]
Continue Reading EU On Alert Towards Russian FDI

The European Commission (“EC”) recently published its first annual report on the new European cooperation mechanism regarding the screening of foreign direct investment (“FDI”) into the EU (the “Report”). The Report shows that four out of every five FDI filings screened at the EU level were quickly resolved within Phase I, while the remaining filings…