Businesses affected by the Strait of Hormuz crisis are likely to be navigating both sides of the contractual liability equation: seeking to enforce protections while simultaneously trying to limit their own exposure. This balancing act will feel familiar to those who managed supply chain disruptions during the Covid pandemic or in response to Russian sanctions.
Nicola Phillips
Nicola Phillips guides her clients in all areas of commercial litigation. From providing crisis management and legal advice to clients facing cyberattacks to pursuing injunctive relief for victims of fraud, Nicola’s practice has a strong focus on urgent and critical support.
Nicola has a diverse practice, advising on all aspects of civil litigation, and vast experience with high court litigation as well as alternative dispute resolution. She manages large compliance investigations and has experience acting for both regulators and large financial institutions responding to governmental enforcement enquiries. Nicola also has significant experience with large, complex civil frauds and regularly obtains injunctive relief to assist with asset preservation. Her other practice areas include asset-based lending, trade finance, infrastructure, energy, insurance, and employment-related disputes.
OFSI Imposes £390,000 Penalty on Apple Subsidiary for Russian Sanctions Breaches: Key Compliance Takeaways
The UK’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) has published details of a £390,000 penalty it imposed on ADI, an Irish subsidiary of Apple Inc., on 19 March 2026. The penalty relates to two payments totalling approximately £635,000 made in 2022 to Okko LLC, a sanctioned Russian app developer, for App Store revenue. Although the…
The U.S.-UK Trade Deal – So Far
On this 4thof July, Britain was also celebrating. The first country to secure a trade deal with the Trump Administration, the U.K. can indeed celebrate the so-called Special Relationship.
But what exactly is in the deal?
For starters it’s not a free trade agreement in the traditional sense. Rather, it’s more like a…
New UK Sanctions Reporting Duties for Insolvency Practitioners and Other Professionals
In November 2024, the UK Government introduced regulations which granted its financial sanctions regulator – the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (“OFSI”) – greater intelligence gathering and enforcement powers. Our previous blog post on these amendments can be found here.
The changes included the extension of mandatory financial sanctions reporting obligations (“…
New UK Sanctions on Russia Targeting Technology, Software and Additional Strategic Goods
- Software Sanctions: The UK has introduced a new prohibition on the transfer and
Firms at Risk of Monetary Penalty for Breaches of UK Financial Sanctions Imposed on Russia
The UK’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (“OFSI”) has imposed a monetary penalty of £465,000 against a multinational law firm’s Russian office (the “Russian Office”) for breaching UK financial sanctions against Russia following its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. This is the first time OFSI has enforced against a law…
Client Alert: Coalition of the Willing: EU and UK, but Not the US, Impose New Russia Sanctions
As they have on each previous anniversary, the EU and UK released new sanctions against Russia on February 24, 2025, to mark the three-year anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. For the first time, the United States did not do the same, electing to issue a limited set of Iran-related sanctions on the anniversary…
UK’s OTSI Publishes New Russia Evasion and Diversion Guidance
To kick-start 2025, the UK’s recently established Office of Trade Sanctions Implementation (“OTSI”) has published two related guidance notes for UK exporters on Russian trade sanctions evasion and diversion.
First, Countering Russian sanctions evasion – guidance for exporters seeks to support UK exporters and manufacturers in identifying Russian evasion practices and mitigating the…
OFSI Granted Greater Sanctions Monitoring and Enforcement Powers
The UK Government has passed new amending sanctions regulations which grants its financial sanctions regulator – the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (“OFSI”) – greater intelligence gathering and enforcement powers, and enables OFSI to deal with licensing applications more efficiently.
The majority of the amendments introduced by The Sanctions (EU Exit) (Miscellaneous…
EU Implements Long-Awaited “14th Round” of Sanctions Against Russia, Further Targeting Circumvention, LNG and the Transportation Sector
An overview on new Russian sanctions and export controls issued by the European Union, focusing on anti-circumvention measures and the Russian financial, military, and LNG industries.
Click here to continue reading the full version of this alert.