A Russian subsidiary of British law firm Herbert Smith Freehills has been fined £465,000 by Britain’s sanctions watchdog for breaching Russian sanctions.
HSF Moscow made six payments of just under £4 million to sanctioned individuals who were subject to an asset freeze. The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) said the payments, which took place over seven days, demonstrated a “pattern of failings” by the firm.
The subsidiary was closed by Herbert Smith Freehills on May 31, 2022, after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February. The payments were made as the firm was winding down its Russian operations.
