International conference “Sanctions Work: Degrading Russia’s War Machine” to be streamed live on 12 November

The Financial Intelligence Unit of Latvia (FIU Latvia) invites the public to watch the livestream of its 8th annual international sanctions conference “Sanctions Work: Degrading Russia’s War Machine” online, on 12 November, starting at 10:00 (Riga time).

Register here: https://sanctionsconference.fid.gov.lv/en/online-01p

The conference will bring together leading sanctions experts and policymakers to discuss the effectiveness of sanctions and the fight against sanctions violations, their role in reducing Russia’s warfighting capabilities, as well as strengthening global security and resilience.

This year, the conference will focus on the practical impact of sanctions on Russia’s ability to continue its war. Experts will examine which sanctions measures have delivered concrete and measurable results in practice, with particular attention to experience and best practices in sanctions implementation, enforcement, and tackling sanctions violations. The conference will also feature a presentation of a report by the European Court of Auditors assessing how effectively the European Union implements trade-related sanctions imposed on Russia, with a particular focus on the roles of the European Commission and EU Member States in their enforcement.

The conference programme will focus on three key topics:

• Export restrictions on Common High Priority (CHP) items – effective approaches to preventing these goods from reaching Russia and disrupting supply chains that support its military-industrial capabilities, including efforts to counter diversion through third countries and other sanctions-circumvention techniques.
• The role of crypto-assets in sanctions circumvention – including the use of crypto-assets to facilitate payments linked to CHP items and other restricted goods.
• Energy sanctions and other measures aimed at reducing Russia’s revenues – measures that have proven effective in restricting Russia’s energy revenues and capabilities, methods used to circumvent energy-sector sanctions, and the role of the shadow fleet.

The conference will bring together distinguished speakers such as Head of the Sanctions Hub of Excellence at Kyiv School of Economics Institute Yuliia Pavytska, Head of EU External Relations Division at French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs Timothée Truelle, Head of Sanctions and Export Controls at Maersk Anu Mathur Boyd, along with other leading experts from the public and private sectors across the EU and the United Kingdom.

The conference agenda, together with a link to the live stream, will be sent to registered participants a few days before the event. The conference will be held in English, while the live stream will be available in both English and Latvian.

FIU Latvia is an independent authority responsible for preventing money laundering and terrorist financing, implementing sanctions, protecting the Latvian financial system from misuse, and cooperating with international partners.