Sanctions – restrictive measures established by international public law in respect of certain countries, specific subjects of sanctions (e.g. terrorists; persons accused of military and political crimes; extremist organizations etc.) or in respect of a certain activity and approved by international organizations and/or countries. There are the following types of sanctions:
Chapter 7 of the Charter of the UN is a legal basis for imposing sanctions of the UN Security Council. Article 29 of the Treaty on the European Union and Article 215 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union is a legal basis for imposing the EU sanctions. The Republic of Latvia imposes sanctions adopted by the UN Security Council through regulatory enactments of the EU and the Law on International and National Sanctions of the Republic of Latvia which stipulates that sanctions imposed by the EU regulations are mandatory for execution and must be applied throughout the territory of the Republic of Latvia. Since the JSC Rietumu Banka is registered in the Republic of Latvia (EU member state), the regulatory enactments and sanctions adopted by the Republic of Latvia, the European Union and the UN Security Council are directly applicable and mandatory for execution.
JSC Rietumu Banka renders financial services in the territory of the Republic of Latvia on the basis of the license for the activity of a credit institution issued by the Financial and Capital Market Commission (since 01.01.2023. – Latvijas Banka, www.bank.lv), therefore the customer servicing is carried out in accordance with laws of the Republic of Latvia which is stated in the Terms and Conditions of JSC Rietumu Banka and Client Agreement. In accordance with Clause 7 of JSC Rietumu Banka and Client Agreement: The substantive law of the Republic of Latvia governs the rights and obligations of the Bank and the Client arising from the Agreement. The US sanctions are applicable and mandatory for execution not only in respect of private individuals and legal entities belonging to the USA, but also apply to the transactions in US dollars. If a client makes payments in US dollars and/or acquires securities of the US issuers and/or securities denominated in US dollars, the obligation to comply with the US sanctions applies to both the client directly, since it is the client who is the party to the transaction, аnd to JSC Rietumu Banka, since JSC Rietumu Banka is the financial institution that participates in the transaction.
When servicing its customers, JSC Rietumu Banka complies with requirements of laws of the Republic of Latvia and the European Union, аnd is guided by the best international practices in the prevention of money laundering and terrorism and proliferation finansing. Recently, the issue of sanctions is particularly significant for financial institutions. The Bank performs transactions on behalf of persons specified in the client’s order via counterparties/correspondents, therefore the Bank needs to understand and conduct an analysis of the client and his/her transactions, as it is the Bank that sends financial resources. The client, by signing the certification and delivering it to the Bank, approves that he/she is informed of the sanctions regime and undertakes to comply therewith, the client’s transactions comply with the requirements of the regulatory enactments and are of legal nature. The practice of signing the certification of obligation to observe the sanctions is introduced in many countries and enables the financial institution to conduct an analysis of clients and their transactions according to the “Know Your Customer” requirements.
The document “Client Certification of Obligation to Observe National and International Sanctions” is intended for all clients of JSC Rietumu Banka and must be signed.
The Bank encourages its clients to obtain information about their cooperation partners and the areas of their partners’ activities before starting business relationship and during the relationship (paying a special attention to transactions involving persons from the regions and jurisdictions of sanctions). Thus, the client will be able to make sure that the transactions with this partner will not conflict with the sanctions laws.
* Please find the full list of sanctions programs and countries in the links below.
Punishments for non-compliance with international sanctions are stipulated in Section 84 of the Criminal Law of the Republic of Latvia. For violation of laws and regulations governing implementation of the sanctions established by the UN Security Council, the ЕU and other international organizations in the Republic of Latvia or which govern implementation of the national sanctions of the Republic of Latvia, the applicable punishment is a fine or deprivation of liberty for a period up to eight years.