In coordination with the United States, EU, and other allies, Canada, Australia, Japan, and South Korea have announced a series of additional sanctions on Russia. Companies with operations in these jurisdictions should carefully review these measures and more broadly monitor sanctions developments in all of the jurisdictions in which they operate.

Canada

Yesterday, Canada implemented new measures restricting dealings with Russia. Canada issued regulations providing for the following:

Asset Freeze & Dealings Prohibition. Persons subject to the Canada regulation are broadly prohibited from dealing in the property of such designated individuals or entities, facilitating such dealings, or otherwise conferring certain economic benefits to such individuals and entities. In addition to various Russian individuals, the asset freeze applies to a series of significant Russian companies and financial institutions, going beyond current blocking measures employed by the United States.
Sector Restrictions (e.g., securities, energy). With some exception, dealing in new debt of varying lengths of maturity and in securities of designated individuals or entities are prohibited. The export, sale, supply, or shipping of specified goods to Russia or Russian persons for use in offshore, shale oil, or Arctic oil exploration and production are similarly prohibited. Included in the prohibition is a ban on the provision of financial, technical, or other services related to the specified goods.

Similar to the United States, exceptions to Canada’s asset freeze and dealings prohibition include certain payments made pursuant to contracts entered into before the new regulations went into force, as well as transactions by international organizations. Justice Canada published a consolidated version of the new measures, but the latest additions to Canada’s listings can be found here and here.

Australia

So far, Australia has announced financial sanctions on an additional 25 persons and four entities, as well as restrictions preventing Australians from investing in four designated Russian financial institutions. These measures expand previously announced financial restrictions on Russian officials and Russian banks.

Restrictions on investments may include directly or indirectly purchasing, selling, or otherwise dealing with bonds, equity, transferable securities, money market instruments or other similar financial instruments issued by specified entities.

Based on an exposure draft of Australian legislation, and earlier announcements, Australia so far has indicated that it will sanction the following Russian financial institutions and entities:

Rossiya Bank
Promsvyazbank
IS Bank
Genbank
The Black Sea Bank for Development and Reconstruction
Cetelem Bank
Russian Agency for Export Credit and Investment
Otkritie Bank
Russian Direct Investment Fund

Japan

Yesterday, Japan announced that it will:

Ban imports from and exports to the so-called “Donetsk People's Republic” and the “Ruhansk People's Republic”;
Freeze assets in Japan held by persons from those contested territories;
Suspend travel visas by such persons; and
Prohibit the issuance of and transactions dealing in new Russian sovereign debt in the primary and secondary markets.

Today, Japan announced that it will take the following additional measures:

Sanction the export of controlled and other dual-use goods, such as semiconductors, to Russian military-related entities;
Freeze assets in Japan held by designated Russian individuals and entities
Suspend travel visas by such individuals and entities; and
Freeze assets in Japan held by VEB.RF, Promsvyazbank, and Bank Rossiya

South Korea

South Korea announced that it would join multilateral sanctions, although details have not yet been released.

New Russia Sanctions Measures from Canada, Australia, Japan, and South Korea